Twisted Loyalties
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Sequel to Beyond Control. After Karai's death, loyalties will be tested when Raphael makes friends with Zog from an alien race, forcing the fate of Earth to be put on the line. Can the turtles repair their broken brotherhood, and save everyone before all they know and love is destroyed? Find Out! Please Read & Review.
1. Chapter 1: Zog Escapes

**Twisted Loyalties**

 **By: Phoenix Ride**

 **Ch.1: Zog Escapes  
**

A cold smile lit up the pride on Bishop's face as he stalked through the eerie surroundings of his secret lab. Luckily, his brief fight with Raphael hadn't done too much damage to the equipment. Bishop would have been extremely displeased if any of his special projects were put on delay.

Kurtzman seemed to be very suspicious of him now. The reporter always had the nerve to stick his nose in where it didn't belong.

Bishop barely remembered what had made him trust the reporter in the first place, and agree to let him in on secrets that no normal human should know. Even secrets that were quite personal to Bishop himself.

Maybe it was because of the vow Bishop had made so long ago, to protect this planet from any threat that dared to invade, that made him give so many secrets.

But never could Kurtzman find out the true purpose of this lab, and that of the forms floating from inside of the glass tubes.

Aliens…mutants… all who would soon be used to achieve Bishop's ultimate goal.

It was a shame that Kurtzman had interfered before the agent could add Raphael to his collection as well. Oh well, there was always a next time. The turtles couldn't run far from Bishop's reach.

Finally, Bishop stopped in his trek, and stood before one of the glass tubes holding an alien-like triceratops hostage inside.

This creature was one of the special ones. A creature that showed during the middle of the Kraang invasion and was allowed to run loose for months until Bishop captured him and decided to put him away.

"Triceraton" Bishop thought with disgust " you would come here to destroy your old foe."

But now the dinosaur had been made helpless. A simple pawn to be used to however Bishop seemed.

The cruel government agent hadn't figured out exactly what he would do to this prisoner yet. Sooner or later, an idea was likely to come to mind.

Suddenly, the quiet tension in the room was shattered as the control panel, just inches from Bishop's chest, started to beep an alarm.

Electronic lines danced dizzyingly across the screen indicating that a huge problem was at large. A frown grew upon Bishop's face as he quickly tried to locate the source of the malfunction, when his eyes looked up and stared at the face of the dinosaur, jumping back when the creature suddenly opened its eyes.

The Triceraton was awake, and his immediate emotion was rage. Glaring venomously at the man who had held him prisoner for so long, the enraged dino thrusted one of his fists against the glass, making a large crack appear on its surface.

One more punch, and the Triceraton was free, spilling green liquid as he jumped out of his cell, and growled down at Bishop his blue eyes shining hard.

Bishop was undeterred by the threat that now stood before him, but wasn't oblivious to the danger this dino could cause.

Stamping his feet with fury, the Triceraton lowered his head down and charged at Bishop with rhino speed.

Bishop quickly dodged out of the way, and managed to make his way behind a sturdy piece of equipment while others weren't spared.

This situation was proving to be quite troublesome, and there was only one way to make it amend. Pressing an alarm hidden underneath one of the lab tables, a siren suddenly blasted out through the entire base, signaling that soldiers would soon arrive.

Aware of the threat that was now coming his way, the Triceraton quickly focused his efforts back on escape, and charged out the nearest exit, leaving debris littering his path.

Soon after the dino was gone, Bishop's backup arrived, all dressed in black and heavily armed. The leader of the unit instantly saluted the government agent as Bishop stepped down and quickly informed them about the escape.

"We must find him and bring him back here immediately!" said Bishop to his men " Dead or alive doesn't matter. If you find the alien, shoot on sight."


	2. Chapter 2: Raph's Rescue

**Ch.2: Raph's Rescue**

Meanwhile, down in the safe haven that mutants liked to call the Underground, a solemn ritual was taking place as the Hamato family buried and mourned over Karai.

Tears stained their eyes as they recalled the brave sacrifice that led to the ninja's grave. Karai, also known as Master Splinter's beloved Miwa, had spent most of her life confused on what she truly should be.

Yet, in the last moments of her life, that confusion was gone, as she bravely sacrificed herself so that Splinter, her true father, could live.

Tears continued to flow as Leo, Don, Mikey, and Master Splinter continued to mourn. Only one pair of eyes stood apart, watching the proceedings from out of the shadows.

His green eyes were downcast with a mixture of guilt and rage. Releasing a deep sigh, Raphael slowly turned around and walked away, leaving the sight of that room.

The red-masked turtle felt his fists grind up along his sides as the thought of Karai's death continued to play in his mind like a bad song.

It was he who had killed her. It was his fault that his family had to mourn.

Shredder may have been behind Raphael's delusion, but it was still him that struck the final blow.

To be that out of control, to feel that much hate and rage at the same time, this was the depth of Raphael's greatest fears. And for the last few days, it had all become real.

Cursing himself, Raphael looked down to once where the gauntlets had been, the tools he had used to slay Karai. A look of disgust curdled up upon his face. Hopefully those weapons were still rotting in the sewer someplace.

He would never wear those fiendish pieces of steel ever again. But still, it could never atone for his crimes.

Far off in the corner, the Mighty Mutanimals were doing their best to take care of the mutants under their guard. Slash had still yet to return from the turtles lair, coming back with a fresh load of supplies so that his family could stay.

Raphael almost wished that he had talked to Slash before the large turtle decided to leave. But it was too late for regrets now, just like it was too late to earn the forgiveness of his family.

Leo hated him. Don hated him. Mikey hated him. Heck, even Master Splinter hated him.

His family didn't want him anymore, so why should he stay? It would only bring them more pain.

"I'd better get some air," Raphael thought, before his mind could even become more morbid.

Shaking his head, Raphael tightened the leather around his sais and stalked out of the Underground, walking into the cold, dark sewers, completely alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the sewers, Zog was running for his life as the sound of Bishop's men pounded along behind him.

The Triceraton's breathing was harsh and shallow, barely holding on in the impure nitrogen air. His body was feeling woozy and his eyes were becoming glazed.

Zog quickly fought off the dizziness, cursing the Kraang for stealing his tools when he crash-landed on Earth months ago.

Those wicked brains had been their enemies for a long time. Zog had to reclaim his equipment and report back to base. Captain Mozar need to know…This planet needed to be destroyed!

Suddenly, Zog found himself trapped, surrounded on nearly all sides by Bishop's troops. The soldiers already had most of the exits blocked, and Bishop stood behind a wall of his men, an evil smile growing on his smug face.

A massive clicking sound was heard as the soldiers armed and aimed their guns directly at Zog. The Triceraton growled, as Bishop raised up his hand. Then, the agent threw his hand down, giving the signal to fire.

Immediately a flurry of shots rang out, zapping against Zog's hard skin. Writhing out in pain against the blasts, the Triceraton crumbled and fell to his knees, screaming his rage at the assault. The stone walls of the sewers reflected those echoes, carrying them far away into the dark.

* * *

Somewhere close-by, Raphael stopped as he heard the sound of Zog's screams. Someone nearby was in trouble, and the faint sound of gunfire could be heard too.

Reacting on instinct, Raphael ran full out to help whoever was in need. When he finally got there, the sight that lay before his eyes was to amazing to believe.

Struggling against a barrage of laser fire appeared to be some kind of mutant dinosaur, bending on his knees. His blue eyes growled as he glared at Bishop, who Raphael suddenly realized was there.

"Bishop," growled Raph under his breath, hands curling into fists on his sides.

Every time he thought of the name, something vile would pop up into his thoughts. Something about this government agent was bad news, he could feel it! Raphael only wished that he could finally remember the reason why.

But, right now, figuring out Bishop's intentions was not the important thing on the plate, saving the dino was.

Drawing out his sais, Raphael yelled and jumped in to help out Zog, surprising Bishop and his troops with the actions of a sudden fight.

Dodging nimbly around the laser blasts, Raphael quickly took out most of the heavy-armed goons, allowing Zog enough time to break and recover before he went after some of the men himself.

While fighting, Zog flung a glance towards his unexpected ally. This turtle warrior who had somehow appeared from the dark. Swinging out his blades, five more men tumbled to his sai.

"A worthy ally indeed," thought Zog, knocking down a few more thugs with his horn. Maybe this turtle warrior would be useful in taking down the Kraang.

"Ah, did I interrupt the party Bishop?" asked Raphael, knocking down one more goon.

"Raphael" said Bishop angrily " you have just made a big mistake."

With that said, Bishop suddenly threw a sharp, metal object right at Raph's head, barely giving the turtle any moment to dodge.

Zog instantly recognized the incoming missile and moved himself in to protect, electricity dancing off his as the device hit his skin.

"No!" cried Raph, hurrying over to help Zog stand up as Bishop ordered his men to back into firing line.

Seeing that there was no choice and they had to escape, Raph reluctantly dug out one of the smoke bombs from his belt and threw it down hard on the floor. A cloud of purple and black instantly moved up to cover both him and Zog just as the soldiers lasers fired.

"Stop!" Bishop commanded as the smoke cleared, and he saw that neither one of his targets was no longer in sight.

Raphael and Zog had both managed to get away, and Bishop stood his ground fuming and displeased.

A huge mistake had been made here tonight. And it was a problem in the future that soon Bishop would have to pay. Bishop and perhaps the entire world, if things were left in the Triceratons hands.


	3. Chapter 3: Words of A Dark Cause

**Ch.3: Words of A Dark Cause**

Back in the Underground, Dr. Rockwell sighed in relief as the last of the supplies were finally sorted out and stored. Now there was enough room in the storage area for when Slash returned from the turtles lair with extra supplies.

For a moment, Dr. Rockwell wondered just where in the world that Slash could be. The large turtle was taking a decisively long amount of time to return.

Maybe one of them should have accompanied Slash back to the lair in order to assure that everything went alright. But no, none of them would have the heart to do that.

This was Slash's family, and he had best chance of finding out just what his family needs. And what they needed most right now, was a lot of care.

Reluctantly, Dr. Rockwell turned his solemn, blue eyes to where the Hamato clan now sat, leaning against the tunnel walls.

Just now, they had all finished mourning over Karai's grave, and all four figures sat huddled together, their raw tears still fresh around their eyes as a gloomy silence engulfed them all.

The fifth member, who should have been huddled along with them, was nowhere to be seen. And Rockwell wondered just where in the world could Raphael be.

The monkey's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the sound of Slash's return finally graced the Underground entrance.

Hefting a heavy load filled with boxes, bags, and an ice cream chest, the large turtle handed them over to Leatherhead and Pigeon Pete to store, and then walked over to Rockwell, with a serious frown on his face.

Rockwell didn't like that look, and instantly knew it meant trouble. Something big had disturbed Slash while he was away, and the monkey wondered what.

"Where's Raphael?" Slash asked first.

Rockwell was surprised. That wasn't what he had expected his leader to say. Hadn't he just wondered where the red-masked turtle had gotten to himself?

"I don't know" said Rockwell honestly. " I haven't seen him for hours now."

"Drat!" Slash cursed " We have to find him. There's a possibility that we still have a chance."

"A chance?" questioned Rockwell " What do you mean?"

"It's gone Rockwell" said Slash, admitting to what he had discovered in the lair. "The trigger is gone."

At that news, Rockwell's eyes opened wide as he immediately the reason why Slash was so concerned.

Not standing around to watch Rockwell stare, Slash immediately walked over to where his family was.

They seemed to be a little happier now, although by their faces it was obvious that they were still shaken up about the death. It didn't take long for Slash to see that Raphael was not among them, so he turned to Master Splinter and spoke.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Master Splinter" said Slash carefully " but have you seen Raphael?"

At the sound of the turtle's name, all at once, all four bodies tensed. Slash was both disturbed and shocked by their reaction.

From the moment they first arrived, Slash could tell that there some unexplained hostility burning between them and Raphael.

They had described what happened at the Shredder's lair, but when the subject reached Karai's death, all went silent and they spoke no more. Did they blame his former master for what happened to Karai?

Slash's eyes filled with anger at the unthinkable thought. Raphael was a lot of things, but he was never a killer. Sure he liked beating people up, but he always kept them alive in the end.

"I was the only one trying to kill somebody," Slash thought, briefly reflecting upon his past.

Quickly shaking the thoughts from his mind, Slash focused back on the task at hand. There was no time for regrets, he had to find Raphael. So there he stood, glaring, waiting for an answer.

* * *

When Slash had asked them where Raphael was, Master Splinter wasn't surprised to find his body tensing up with all the others.

They had all suffered a great loss, and to the rat, he had lost the last member of his former family.

Master Splinter immediately realized their response had been wrong when he noticed the anger building up in Slash's eyes. He knew that his red-masked son was not to blame.

It had been Shredder who had guided Raphael's final hand, activating the gauntlets in order to strike Splinter down, but unfortunately ended up killing Miwa instead.

Right now, the bond between their family was severed, and it would take several days before it ever became repaired.

However, judging by the look on Slash's face, there wasn't time, so Splinter turned his head and gave Slash his answer.

"I do not know" Master Splinter said calmly " He did not attend the funeral that we held for Karai. I assume he may have gone for a walk to clear his mind."

"What do want him for anyway?" asked Mikey, his curiosity aroused.

"Cause he may still have the trigger on hand" said Slash to the group " a device I gave him long ago."

"A trigger?" said Don suddenly alarmed "What trigger?"

"It was after we stopped the invasion in New York" Slash explained " I gave Raph something and told him to keep it safe, not telling anyone of you. I couldn't risk to many people finding out about what I've done."

"The trigger is a bomb," Slash continued " It once threatened to blow New York off the map. Newtralizer is the one that made it, and now it's possible it's back in his scales."

"If that's true" said Leo " then we have to find Raph. If he took the trigger with him, then he has a target on his back."

"Do you really think he had it on him when we went after Shredder?" asked Mikey "That fight was intense! I figure the device may fallen out of his belt during all that conflict."

"Mikey's right" said Don " I don't think Raph would risk losing something so important during a fight. It was a probably still hidden in the lair, and someone else came to claim it."

"Let's hope that's not the case" said Slash " because if the Newtralizer has it, all of New York could be doomed."

"Then we shall help you and make sure that doesn't occur" said Splinter, standing up on his feet. " We must stop the Newtralizer and also find Raphael. Donatello, use your T-Phone and see if you can find your brother. I fear that we have to have all of the help we need in order to face this threat."

* * *

Meanwhile, farther away, in a dark part of the sewers, Raphael and Zog breathed out heavily with exhaustion, relieved that they had both managed to escape the threat of Bishop's troops.

"Are you okay?" Raph asked Zog, adrenaline quickly rushing in to save the breath of his lungs.

"Yes…" said Zog, wheezing as he spoke " I'm…fine."

Raph didn't believe him and looked at his new dino-pal with concern. Zog's breathing was very harsh and hard. Running from Bishop had made his lungs more vulnerable to the impure nitrogen air. He was never going last and take out the Kraang at this rate.

"We need something to help you breathe" said Raph to Zog " There's a lab that Don found recently that just might do the trick. Come on!"

Not having much other choice, Zog nodded and followed after Raphael to where he could receive aid. A few minutes later, they finally arrived.

The lab they had entered was clearly some kind of human facility, used as storage for science students who had to much time on their hands.

Don had loved it when he had discovered this place. Most of this equipment had been barely touched, and was just begging to be used for an experiment to help all of mankind.

Raphael had so wanted to kick Don in the shell when the purple-masked turtle asked him to help move some of this stuff. But now, Raph guessed the knowledge of this place was starting to help him out, if he could help a fellow mutant breathe.

Making his way over to the gas tanks which lined one wall, Raphael instinctively reached his hand towards the oxygen when Zog shook his head and said "No".

"Not that one…," said Zog, and pointed over to the nitrogen tank. " That."

Speechless for a moment, Raphael shrugged his shoulders and handed the nitrogen tank over to Zog.

Quickly, the dinosaur constructed a temporary breathing apparatus and breathed in the pure, nitrogen air. His breathing calmed and relaxed. It felt good to breathe his own atmosphere.

"Thank you" said Zog, looking at Raphael " my name is Zog, loyal soldier of the mighty Triceraton Empire. I am in your debt for helping me escape from those soldiers. I might have been captured again if you hadn't come along."

" You're welcome" said Raph " Call me Raphael. Why was Bishop after you anyway?"

"I'm not sure" said Zog " but I know that it must have something to do with the Kraang. You see, we Triceratons have been fighting against them for years, suffering many battles. Then, we paid the ultimate price. Now…only a small group of my Triceraton brothers remain. And our mission is simply this, find and eliminate all Kraang before they can do anymore harm."

"Well you shouldn't have to worry about the Kraang here" said Raphael, crossing his arms " Me and my brothers sent them packing back to Dimension X months. They should be totally stuck there."

"No, you're wrong" said Zog, making Raph look up with surprise. " The Kraang are still here. As soon my ship crash-landed on this planet I could smell. Their vile stench polluting your planet's air. You may have driven some Kraang to Dimension X but not all of them are gone. They have been setting up secret outposts, and I was captured in one. That's probably how I wound up in 'his' hands!"

Raphael tilted his head down. He didn't want to believe what Zog was saying, but what if it was the truth? If the Kraang weren't really gone, could the Earth be doomed again?

"I like Zog" Raph thought in his head " but…we only just met. Can I really trust this guy?"

As if sensing Raphael's doubt, Zog locked into the turtle with his blue gaze and stared.

"Believe me Raphael, it's not over yet."

For a few moments Raphael stood in silence and then finally sighed.

"Alright" he said " tell me where their bases are and I'll help you take them down. I want our home to be safe."

"You have made a wise decision my noble friend" said Zog as he stood up to shake Raph's hand. " And I know just where we should strike first. Please, follow me."

With that said, Zog made his over towards the door of the lab, clutching his nitrogen air tank securely in his arms.

Raph moved to follow behind, when all of the sudden his T-Phone rang. Picking it up with a little shock that someone called, Raphael's eyes moved to see Donatello's name appear on the view screen.

Why would Donnie be calling him right now? Should he answer, or just hang up?

If this had something to do with him not attending the funeral for Karai, he wasn't really in the mood for a lecture right now.

Should he tell them about Zog? About the possibility that Kraang were still running around here? Would they even believe him?

"No" Raph finally thought " no one trusts a murderer."

He just let the phone ring until it stopped, and then turned off the power, silencing the tracer that lay inside. Helping Zog was more important now.

So he left and followed after the dino, leaving the worries about his brothers behind.


	4. Chapter 4: The Newtralizer's Plan

**Ch.4: The Newtralizer's Plan**

"Tonight" breathed the Newtralizer, as he gazed down at the deadly device lying in his hands. "Tonight is when this is all going to end."

A thrill of dark joy could be felt passing through the alien's spine as his evil eyes gleamed in their eerie, yellow light. Oh how the Newtralizer had waited long for this day, a day when the Kraang would ultimately be destroyed, once and for all!

"Those fools simply didn't understand" mumbled Newtralizer, thinking about the allies of his past " sometimes sacrifices must be made."

Slash, the Mutanimals, and even his own race of Salamanderian warriors, failed to see the brilliance of his plan.

The only way to destroy the Kraang was to annihilate them all, even if the whole world had to be put at stake. It didn't matter whether or not the casualty was going to be high. In war, there was always great loss, so what was the trouble of adding a few more dead bodies onto the pile?

Unfortunately, the Salamanderians didn't see it that way. A strict code of honor had been bred deep into their genetic outline, especially when it concerned guarding the lives of the innocent.

Even in war, the innocent were to be protected at all costs, just in case the soldiers couldn't survive, new ones could grow and carry on the warrior heritage.

But that simple weakness that they had to fret over all of the children, mothers, and elderly on their world, had led to the Salamanderians downfall. Because they had to worry about worthless lives, the Kraang ended up getting the upper-hand in the war.

Finally, the shame of putting up with all this nonsense got on Newtralizer's nerves, and he ordered a secret assault to attack the Kraang's home base.

The battle did not go well. It was gruesome, brutal, and bloody, and when those who went finally came back, only the Newtralizer managed to walk away alive.

His superior was not pleased, and neither were any of the others of his kind. Newtralizer was banished from his home world, never to set foot upon its ground again.

Not long after he had been exiled, he was ambushed and captured by a group of Kraang seeking to have revenge. They tortured him for years as punishment for that secret assault against their base.

For a long time, rarely did the Newtralizer feel anything besides endless pain and suffering. And even though his body felt that it was burning from within, deep inside his cold heart, the Newtralizer's resolve was hardened.

Soon, all of the Kraang here on Earth would pay, and when they did, the Salamanderians were next!

* * *

"Ugh!" grunted Don, as he once again couldn't get a response on his T-Phone. " I can't reach Raph! He must have his T-Phone turned off or something. I can't get through."

"Can't you trace him?" asked Leo, as some of their group moved on to go up ahead.

"Not if the phone is turned off" said Don " It's very clear Raph doesn't want to be found."

"Then we'll just have to wait until we're close enough and I can sense him with my mind" said Rockwell to Donatello. " Hurry, let's go meet up with the others and see if they have had any luck. Let us hope that Raphael hasn't landed himself into some huge trouble by now."

"Don't count it" thought Leo, throwing Rockwell a skeptical look as the monkey walked on ahead. " Raphael always manages to find trouble, even when he doesn't mean it."

* * *

"Are you sure this a Kraang base?" asked Raphael, as he and his dinosaur pal finally stepped back onto land.

"Very sure" said Zog, looking towards Raph. The nitrogen tank was now strapped to his waist, with the tube leading to his mouth for a steady supply of air.

"If you say so," thought Raph, although the reality was still to hard to believe.

The Statue of Liberty, a Kraang base! Thousands of people flocked over to see this giant statue every day, and not one of them had noticed aliens making a secret headquarters inside?

This was the place that Zog said he was captured in too. So the Kraang here would have his gear.

Well, whether Raphael believed it or not, they were going in anyway.

"Statue of Liberty, here we come!"

Soon, both Raphael and Zog slipped inside, and made their way up the winding stairs to Liberty's crown. The whole inside of the statue was silent and dark, yet both of the intruders kept their ears open for a Kraang, wary of any traps.

After a while though of seeing nothing more than silence and darkness, Raphael was about to turn and question Zog if this place was truly correct when the first sounds of Kraang finally caught his ears.

"Kraang" echoed out a robotic voice " that which is known as the portal should be ready to open at the time that is soon."

"Excellent" responded another Kraang " soon Kraang shall reclaim this world, and nothing will stop us."

"That's what they think!" thought Raph in his mind, before stating out loud to Zog " They're planning to invade the Earth again."

"Then we need to stop them" said Zog, instantly coming up with a plan. " Go to that cross section over there and see if you can sneak your way up to the crown. I'll go up the rest of the way here and cause a little 'diversion' as you take down their computer networks."

"Sounds like a plan" said Raph ' let's move!"

With that said, Raph and Zog went their separate ways, and seconds after Raph began his ascent to the crown, he could hear the sounds of struggle coming from the other side of the statue's cone. Zog had just made contact with the Kraang, and from the sound of the laser fire, the Kraang weren't doing very well in the fight.

Nothing less to be expected when taking on an angry, three-hundred pound dino with horns.

"Good thing Don improved these grappling hooks," thought Raph, as he continued to climb.

He was still a few floors away from the crown, and his arms would have been exhausted if he had to power climb his way to the top. Catching the hook onto a sturdy ridge, and gliding up the rest of the way was much easier.

"This is close enough," Raph decided, and set himself down on one floor, underneath the crown's base.

Already, Raph knew that the area he was standing in was different. What seemed as usual empty space during the day, had an extreme technical makeover at night.

"The Kraang computer network!" Raph thought " Time to shut it down!"

These alien bozos weren't going to be planning another invasion on his watch!

Down below, the sounds of battle were beginning to grow faint, and Raph twirled out his sais, stabbing at the computers with all his might. There was no time for the 'delicate' touch. With their equipment damaged, the Kraang wouldn't be opening any portals today.

Suddenly, something strong back-fisted Raphael in the back of his head, knocking the red-masked turtle out cold on the floor. His T-Phone fell out of his belt, turning back on as it banged into a computer stand nearby.

"Raka! Raka! Raka!" laughed out an eerie tone, as the Newtralizer suddenly appeared out of the shadows and aimed his gun.

"I didn't expect to run into you tonight" Newtralizer said to the unconscious Raphael. " A little revenge, and then the bomb."

With that said, the Newtralizer powered up his weapon and shot.


	5. Chapter 5: Rage In Liberty

**Ch.5: Rage In Liberty**

"Heh" thought Zog, as he continued to smash his way through the Kraang " just like home."

The robotic bodies these aliens built were still pathetic, barely standing up to a Triceraton's strength. The only reason they had managed to capture him before was by pure luck and numbers. He would not get caught a second time.

Keeping guard on the nitrogen tank that was helping him breathe, Zog continued to charge. The Kraang here were nearly all wiped out, and the reward for all of his effort lay just ahead, trapped in that little box they hid behind that door.

At last, when the last of the Kraang were thrown down into Liberty's depths, Zog punched his way inside the room, and retrieved the box containing his prize.

Quickly, he opened it up and let out a smile, happy to see all his equipment was still there. Carefully, he removed the nitrogen tank from his belt, and replaced it with his real atmospheric breather. Pure nitrogen air flowed into his lungs.

Dropping his temporary load, Zog quickly searched through the rest of the box, and picked out a small pyramid and triangular diamond-shaped device.

This would come in handy later for what he had planned, but right now, maybe it was time for him to regroup with his turtle ally then…

Suddenly, the whole Statue of Liberty shook, and Zog had to struggle just to stay on his feet.

"What's going on?" thought the dinosaur, and instantly went over to the railing to look down.

He was shocked to see the floor suddenly open up, and a portal of red and yellow energy suddenly revealed.

Turns out, one of the Kraang Zog knocked down earlier had actually managed to escape the dino's rampage alive, and sought revenge by releasing a creature to deadly for even a Triceraton to escape.

"ROAR!" shook the walls as the creature flew from the portal and shot up directly in the air.

"So long Triceraton," thought the Kraang, and then ran off to escape from their doom.

* * *

Back near the crown, the Newtralizer had his gun aiming down on a beaten Raphael. The turtle lay on the floor, unmoving and bruised, senseless to the death that was seconds away from ending his life.

The Newtralizer grinned, and smugly pulled the trigger on his gun. Just when the gun went off, the ground shook, making the Newtralizer unsteady and miss. His blast bounced off the far metal side, well away from Raphael's head.

"Grr!" growled the Newtralizer, dissatisfied that he hadn't made his kill. The walls around him started to glow red.

"What's going on?" he thought, confused by the sudden change.

At that moment, he would wish that he had been paying more attention to Raphael. Awakened from the earthquake of the creature rising, Raphael quickly shook off his dizziness and turned on the Newtralizer, slashing at the villain with his sai.

"Ra!" yelled the Newtralizer, letting out a scream of pain, as the metal slashed deep into his chest.

Furious yellow eyes glared at Raphael, as the Newtralizer covered up the wound to fight through the pain. The red-masked turtle was going to pay for that, but before the alien lizard could even get the chance, the savage creature the Kraang had unleashed suddenly appeared in all of its red-yellow glory.

Sparking and roaring in a snake-like form of energy, the creature's yellow eyes darted back and forth in crazy mood for destruction, fangs bared and ready to kill.

"An energy serpent!" thought Newtralizer, suddenly recognizing the threat.

If one had been released here, then all hopes for setting off the bomb was completely lost. He had already lost some time dealing with Raphael, and now that an energy serpent was here, all chances for the Newtralizer to accomplish his plans tonight were gone.

The energy serpent wouldn't stop until there was nothing left but complete destruction. The only option was to retreat, and that's exactly what Newtralizer did.

"Hey wait!" called Raphael, chasing after the lizard as he suddenly jumped over the railing and down into the abyss below.

Raph growled, mad that his deadly opponent had somehow got away, but quickly found himself dealing with greater concerns.

The energy serpent had spotted him, and dive-bombed straight towards the turtle, tearing through the catwalk with electrifying force.

Raphael barely managed to dodge away in time, but found himself falling soon after, grasping at air.

Thinking fast, Raph quickly retrieved the grapple gun from his belt and shot it into the air. The hook traveled high before it finally caught, stopping Raphael from plunging to his doom.

"Whew" said Raph, pleased that he had survived the fall. " That was to close!"

However, his troubles weren't over yet, as the sound of laser fire suddenly filled up Liberty's hull. Down a few levels, on floor below, Zog had picked up gun he borrowed from one of the Kraang he smashed, and was battling the energy serpent all alone.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" shouted Raph, as he let go to drop and help Zog with his fight.

His Triceraton friend would need every bit of help he could get, if they both wanted to get out of this place alive.

* * *

Meanwhile, far away from the Statue of Liberty, Donatello cursed the luck he was having with the T-Phone. Moments after he, Rockwell, and Leo joined up with the others, his phone miraculously started picking up Raphael's signal again. He must have turned it back on, activating the tracer as well.

Relief flooding through all of their minds, they had moved topside, following the signal's trail. Then, in a blink it was gone, lost for good, because when the energy serpent attempted to attack Raphael in Liberty, the phone was destroyed as well.

Unfortunately, Donatello didn't know this little fact, and shook the device in his hand in anger for its failure to locate his brother's whereabouts.

"Stupid, useless, piece of junk!" Don cursed in his mind, before a calming hand from Leo, on his shoulder, settled his rage.

"Rockwell?" suddenly asked Leatherhead, attracting everyone's attention to the primate in front of them.

Rockwell's eyes were closed in concentration, and his face seemed contorted with pain and confusion before…

"Aaahh!" the monkey suddenly cried.

"Rockwell, what is it?" asked Slash, immediately concerned.

"Raphael!" said Rockwell urgently " He's in serious trouble. Come now, this way!"

The others didn't have to be told twice. If Raphael was in trouble, they were going to put a stop to it! And from the sound of Rockwell's scream, the turtle was in serious pain.

* * *

"Watch out!" Raph shouted to Zog as the energy serpent moved in to attack them again. Both warriors were clearly on the losing side of this fight.

Quickly following Raph's heed, Zog dodged and luckily moved out of the way in time, before turning back around and firing at the energy serpent, whose deadly fangs nearly scorched his scales.

However, the blasts from the Kraang gun still had no effect, bouncing off of the serpent like droplets of rain. If there was any damage at all, there wasn't much, and Raphael knew that helping out by attacking directly was not a good idea.

When he tried that earlier, dropping in to help Zog, he made the mistake of stabbing at the creature with his sais. The result was a painful shock that nearly cooked his shell.

Raph had experienced being electrified before, but what he felt from the serpent was ten times worse, and he wouldn't want to go through it again.

"It's a being of energy!" Zog exclaimed, still firing off shots " There's no way we can harm it!"

"Damn those Kraang and their weapons of war!" Raphael cursed in his head.

Where the heck did they get this guy anyway? Raph had seen a lot of crazy things back when he and his brothers had to travel through Dimension X, but this energy serpent was suddenly new to plate, and it was getting annoyed.

Eyes narrowing with angry displeasure that two foes stood in the way of its destruction, the energy serpent suddenly roared, red and yellow lightning blasting off his scales, and striking the Statue of Liberty's copper hull.

The reaction to the sudden charge was instant, quickly turning the national monument into a very deadly place.

Raphael and Zog barely had time to move as the electric charge caught up to them and surged straight through their skin. Twin yells of pain hollered simultaneously as both warriors were brought hopelessly to the ground.

Because of his thick skin, moments later, Zog was slowly beginning to again stand, but Raphael remained unconscious, barely breathing, having suffered the effects of a second shock.

Zog saw his ally lying fallen and became miffed. Although he had only been with Raphael for a short time, the turtle had helped him without question and was honorable in every deed.

Such dedication and courage didn't deserve to die in this place. And with that thought, Zog threw out the pyramid-like device towards the energy serpent, trapping it in an orange-colored sphere.

The serpent hissed, displeased with its new cage, but Zog didn't listen and went to scoop up Raphael before heading down the stairs to leave.

And as he left, Zog counted down the seconds ticking down on the pyramid-like device. Moments later, a huge explosion flared up inside of Liberty's insides, shaking up the statue to its core as the energy from the serpent was destroyed and dispersed, sending shockwaves through the entire hull.

Zog ran out just in time to see Liberty go up in flames. The American symbol of freedom had been destroyed.


	6. Chapter 6: Freedom's Decay

**Ch.6: Freedom's Decay**

Leonardo couldn't believe his eyes once he and the others finally arrived at the pier. There, standing just across the water, the Statue of Liberty was burning with flames.

Everyone was speechless at the sight of seeing the national monument be destroyed, but eventually, Michaelanglo decided to break the silence, putting to voice the question that was burning in everyone's heads.

"Whoa" stated the orange turtle " what happened here?"

No one answered, and Leo turned to Rockwell, with an even bigger concern on his mind.

"Raph" the leader spoke his brother's name almost shakingly " is that where he is?"

"I don't know" said Rockwell equally concerned " I can no longer sense the whole of his mind, but there is someone else heading this way, just a few meters offshore."

"Pete" said Slash, turning to the flying member among them " go fly and check it out!"

"Roger!" saluted Pete, and flapped his wings to fly out over the bay.

Moments later, Pete picked up signs of the craft that Rockwell had sensed, and flew down deep for a closer look. The mutant pigeon let out a squawk and almost backpedaled in surprise when he saw the two occupants riding in on the little sea-boat.

Standing tall on the boat was a dinosaur-like creature with an unconsious Raphael in his hands. Pigeon Pete did not like the look of the turtle's state, and knew that the others would be upset once they saw it too.

Had this dinosaur been the one who had harmed Raphael, or was there somekind of story they missed and had yet to be told?

From the boat, Zog noticed that he was being watched, and quickly caught sight of the mutant pigeon with his eyes. Was this one of Raphael's friends?

It seemed to be so, because there was a whole group of mutants gathered along at the pier, and their eyes were staring towards the ocean with worry and concern.

Following Pete's path back to the dock, it wasn't long until climbed onto shore, Raphael still in his arms, looking better than he did a few minutes ago.

"Raph!" called Leo, Don, and Mikey, instantly running to come look at their brother with concern.

"What did you to him?!" accused Leo, glaring at Zog, feeling angry and confused.

"I did nothing to him" said Zog " it was the Kraang. We were fighting them and Raphael accidently got hurt in the process."

"Kraang? Here?" said Donatello surprised " But that's not possible...,"

His statement was suddenly interrupted when the sounds of police sirens approached from all sides. The authorities had been informed about the explosion and were hurriedly responding to check out the cause.

"Perhaps it is better if we speak somewhere else," said Splinter, to which the others quickly agreed.

With that, the group ran, vanishing back into the shadows of the night, Back to the Underground where safety laid, and there would be answers to the questions they had.

* * *

Moments later, in the Underground safe haven, Raphael awoke treated and cured, his burns wrapped with medical silk. He lay confused for a moment on how he had managed to end back up in the Mutanimals home, but once he saw Zog sitting along with his brothers it all became clear.

"Great" said Slash, making Raph turn and look towards him " you're awake now. Maybe now you can explain what happened at the statue and just who your friend is."

Raph nodded and walked over with Slash to the others who were all waiting for the story to be told. Taking a deep breath, Raph began.

Slowly the red-masked turtle explained how he had found Zog being ambushed in the sewers, and helped him escape from Bishop and his men. It was then that Zog told him about the Kraang and that they weren't done yet planning an invasion for Earth.

All of the chaos inside of the Statue of Liberty had happened after that; encountering the Newtralizer, facing the energy serpent, the big explosion. Yeah, it was a lot to take in.

By the end of the story, all jaws seemed to drop with both horror and amaze. Raphael's brothers could hardly believe what their hot-headed kin had been up to in that amount of time.

Soon as Raphael was done, everyone turned to Zog, questioning the strained relationship the Triceratons seemed to share with the Kraang. Although reluctant at first, Zog told them his tale.

Years ago, the Triceraton home world had been a peaceful place, until the Kraang decided to invade, seeking to make their world their own. The Triceratons would not stand for this, and began to strike back with brute force.

Every day, it was a constant battle between the Kraang's tech and their strength. The Triceratons seemed to be on the losing edge, but the capture and mutation of one of their soldiers that finally drove them mad.

The Triceratons counter-attacked, big time, taking the fight to the Kraang's own home base in Dimension X. Once the home fell, the enemy too would surely fall. Unfortunately, the Kraang shared the same idea.

"Our home world...lost" breathed Zog, closing his eyes to hide the tears " Me and my brothers have nothing left to live for except our revenge against the Kraang, and eliminate them once and for all."

Stunned silence grasped the air at the end of Zog's sad tale. Even Raphael was surprised at how dark the story was.

Who would have thought the Kraang were actually capable of something like that? Destroying a whole planet just to eradicate an enemy to which they couldn't win.

"They're even crazier than I thought" said Raph in his mind " We need to take those creeps down! Once and for all!"

"We're sorry about what happened to you with the Kraang" Slash told Zog " You're not the only one they did wrong. We'll gladly help you face them, but right now the Newtralizer is our biggest concern."

"Even more so now that he once again tried to set off his bomb," said Rockwell.

"Bomb?" said Raph, suddenly confused " I thought that was impossible with the piece you gave me Slash."

"It wasn't in the lair when I looked for supplies" said Slash, meeting his former owner's gaze " No doubt the Newtralizer has it now. He's looking for a high place to set the bomb, and wipe New York off the map."

"What are you talking about?" asked Zog "What bomb?"

"It's this little green orb thing Slash gave once to hide" Raph explained to the dino " It has some kind of unstable energy in it that only gets more destructive the higher it goes. If activated, it would just blow everything in."

Zog pondered Raphael's description for a moment, wondering if he had seen anything remotely similar before. A green orb with pulsing energy inside? Power enough to destroy an entire city if need be?

A flash of recognition suddenly entered into his mind. The core, it had to be! The missing piece that they had been searching for was here!

Captain Mozar needed to be informed at once. Searching this area of space had proved worth it after all.

Minutes later, the turtles and Mutanimals all turned in in order to go to sleep, but Zog stayed awake, dragging out the diamond-shaped device attached to his side.

Quietly, he pushed a button to activate the machine, and a red-orange glow suddenly lit up the darkness of the room. A pulse went out, the beacon was being sent. It wouldn't be long until Captain Mozar and the entirety of the Triceration forces soon arrived.

* * *

Meanwhile, the next morning, rising up sleepily in her apartment, April found herself waking to the urgent calls of her dad, telling her to quickly come down to the living room and join him watching the TV.

Curious to what could be so urgent, April quickly got dressed and went down to see her dad watching the news. A big, bold headline lay flashing across the screen;

Statue of Liberty Attacked!

April was stunned. Who would be so cruel as to attack a national monument? Quickly, April decided to call Casey to see if he was watching this report as well.

"Hello?" answered Casey's voice a moment later.

"Casey, have you seen the news?" asked April excitedly.

"I'm watching it right now Red" said Casey, his tone serious " I can't believe it! Who would do something like that?!"

"I don't know" said April " I just got really bad feeling. Something is coming Casey, something big!"

* * *

Meanwhile, over on Liberty Island, Agent Bishop stood silent watching as his group of uniformed men tried their best to keep the public at bay from aggravating this situation even more.

Word had gotten out quickly about the explosion that shook the Statue of Liberty's core, and anger and panic could be felt tensely on the breeze. Growling with discomfort, Bishop curled his fingers with discontent.

Just how was he supposed to cover up something as big as this from the public eye. Thanks to the media, the story was already out, and it would be extremely to convince people that this was an accidental act.

As if the universe just loved to continue to throw softballs into the equation, Jack Kurtzman suddenly appeared. Bishop just sighed in disbelief, knowing that the reporter wouldn't go away until he had the entire scoop.

"Bishop" said Kurtzman, striding over to the agent " What's going on here? Was it the Kraang?"

"No Jack" said Bishop " they had nothing to do with this explosion. Don't worry, the damage from the statue is mostly internal, and the wounded parts to the layers can be repaired in days."

"I can't just believe this happened" said Kurtzman, looking towards the monument with sad eyes. " How could it get any worse then this?"

"Actually Kurtzman" Bishop turned, eying his friend seriously " things could get worse. All because of a little friend of ours...Raphael."

* * *

Meanwhile, far away, hidden somewhere in the warehouse district...

"Grrr!" growled Newtralizer, slamming down his fists on pile of boxes, splitting numerous pieces of wood in two.

The alien lizard couldn't believe the rotten luck he had encountered last night. Now because of the Statue of Liberty incident, every local figure was on high alert, fearing that something devastating could be headed their way.

Oh how the Newtralizer wanted to prove them right. The Statue of Liberty had been such an ideal height for setting up his bomb. And the fact that he planned to use the equipment the Kraang were operating to open the portal to Dimension X to focus the blast even more, had gone up in flames when the energy serpent arrived and he had to retreat to safer ground.

"Where am I going to find another building to focus that blast?" Newtralizer asked angrily in his mind. " Where? Where?!"

Suddenly, his foot stepped on something, and the Newtralizer looked down and got an idea. Yes, that was the perfect place now wasn't it? Right in the center, the heart of all the Kraang.

Quickly, the Newtralizer turned and dashed off, ready to brainstorm and accomplish his plan. The flutter of pages could be heard as the thing the Newtralizer stepped on shivered a little on the ground.

On the front page, in bold letters, were the four, single symbols of the alphabet that had become rather infamous across the years;

 **TCRI**

* * *

Meanwhile, down at the bottom of the ocean, the news of Liberty's demise had even reached the Technodrome, whose faithful Kraang were busy at work repairing the ship so that it could take off and invade the Earth once more.

"Blast!" cursed Kraang Sub-prime, as he hovered around checking everybody's work " We've lost a good operation over at the Liberty, and now the turtles have a Triceraton on their side. I thought we thought we got rid of those guys long ago! How could it get any worse than this?"

"Status report Kraang Sub-prime," suddenly sounded the official voice of the Kraang's main boss, Kraang Prime. Sub-prime immediately turned around to face his leader.

"The repairs are nearly complete Your Supremeness" said Kraang Sub-prime " but our plans to bring an armada of reinforcements from Dimension X have gone up in flames. Apparently, one of the Triceratons still live, and is now helping our turtle foes."

"Yes" said Kraang Prime " I remember the one we captured before someone else snatched him away. So what if that one still lives. That lowly Triceraton is the last of his kind. Without their home world, they are no longer a threat to us."

* * *

Oh, how wrong Kraang Prime was, for at that moment, floating out in deep space, the Triceraton army thrived floating on the shattered pieces of their home world, that had been enhanced into functional ships to where they could all live and breathe.

Inside one of those ships, Captain Mozar sat comfortably in his command chair, looking over his scanners when one of his soldiers suddenly called out from below.

"Sir, we have received Zog's signal beacon" said the soldier " it from a third world planet in the Milky Way Galaxy called Earth."

"Take us there Commander," said Mozar.

With a nod, the soldier immediately went off in order to carry out the command. Soon, the whole Triceraton fleet was well on its way, and the Earth was unaware of the approaching doom.


	7. Chapter 7: Doom Falls

**Ch.7: Doom Falls**

Raphael still wasn't used to all of the sounds of the Underground. Dozens of mutants ran around here and there, determined to accomplish various tasks. Slash and his Mutanimals team were already up guiding these activities and making sure everything was done right.

For a second, Raphael glanced over to the dining area of the Underground, where his brothers and Zog currently sat.

It felt awkward to be in his brothers presence again, especially after what he did to Karai. Zog had helped mend some of the discomfort in the air, but he could never heal the rift of guilt in Raphael's heart.

Prodded on by the haunting image of his dead sister, Raphael finally stood up from the wall he was laying against, and walked over to the room which held Karai's grave.

His green eyes turned solemn as he looked upon the upturned sand. His muscles were heavy and felt like lead, roiling in the guilt that flowed through his viens.

"I'm sorry Karai," Raphael whispered, even though he knew that the ninja could not hear.

After all of the pain that Karai had to go through, she didn't deserve to die like that. Not by the hand of one of her brothers, even if his will wasn't completely in control.

A sigh escaped from Raphael's lips, soon interrupted by a gentle tone.

"Raphael," came the voice.

The turtle's eyes turned to see his beloved sensei standing in the door.

"Master Splinter" said Raph, failing to keep the regret out of his voice " I'm sorry master, I didn't mean to...,"

"It is alright my son" said Master Splinter, walking up to place a comforting hand on his pupil's shoulder. " You have a right to be here. There is no one to blame. I'm afraid it is I who owes an apology to you."

"You?" asked Raphael stunned " But Sensei, you weren't the one who...,"

"No" admitted Splinter " but for a moment, I was angry with my own son. My love for Miwa had almost turned into hate for you, and that is a shame that I cannot unbear."

"You had a right to think that way Sensei" said Raphael, looking back at Karai's grave " I know the others still do,"

"No" said Splinter " your brothers still care for you, as do I. Your brotherhood may seem broken now, but in time it will heal. Have faith my son, no matter how dark, things can always change."

Raphael looked up at his sensei, wondering if those words could be true, and before he could thank the rat for his forgiveness, Mikey suddenly came into the room.

"Hey guys!" said Mikey, completely oblivious to the moment he had just intervened " Mondo just came back, and thinks he found a new home for us. Don says we should go check it out, come on."

Shrugging his shoulders, Raph and Splinter followed Mikey out of the room and into the den area where most of the mutants in the Underground usually gathered. Leo, Don, along with most the Mutanimals were standing next to Mondo to hear his news about a new lair.

"It's totally righteous dudes!" said Mondo, once everyone had gathered to listen "With plenty of space for you and your bros. Follow me and come check it out man. I'll guarantee you'll love this place."

"We'll see about that" said Leo, smiling slightly to Mondo " but is it really best to leave right now? What about the Newtralizer? Have we uncovered any leads?"

"It's still to early to know for sure" said Rockwell " We have suspicions to where he might have gone, but have yet to support them with concrete facts."

"Rest assured" said Slash " we'll contact you if we get any leads. But for now, Mondo, go show them around this new home. We'll keep the search from here."

"Yes Sir!" saluted Mondo, and then started to lead the turtles out of the room.

"You coming Zog?" Raph paused, looking towards his dino friend, who was standing a few feet away.

"Might as well," said Zog, agreeing to tag along for the ride.

Slash glared as the dino passed and went off with the others, vanishing from sight.

"Something doesn't seem right about him," the large turtle thought before dismissing himself for patrol.

Slash could hardly explain it, but he just had a bad feeling about Raphael's new alien friend. Again, from Slash's experience, all of the aliens he met were evil, especially the Kraang.

So maybe his judgment was biased, and Zog deserved a chance. Raphael trusted him, so how bad could he be? Certainly not as bad as 'him'.

"Newtralizer!" Slash growled, grinding a fist in his hand " I will find you, before this all ends."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in his government labs, Agent Bishop looked in among his pet projects and wondered briefly about the conversation he had shared with Jack Kurtzman earlier that day. The reporter had looked at him confused when he suggested that Raphael could bring something more dangerous than Liberty's destruction.

"What do you mean by that Bishop?" asked Kurtzman " What does Raphael have to do with this?"

Calmly Bishop explained what had happened between him and Raphael in the sewer tunnels. That the red-masked turtle had aided and allowed an alien prisoner to escape.

This prisoner was dangerous to the Kraang, but held horrors for the Earth as well, especially if the rest of his kind discovered that he was here.

Kurtzman couldn't believe the truth, knowing that the turtles would never do something intentionally to harm the world. But if Bishop was right, a terrible threat was coming, and coming soon.

A sudden alarm from his computer broke Bishop's thoughts away from Jack, and he looked to see that a message had appeared on screen. Knowing that it must be important, Bishop opened up the message, and read the contents softly to himself, eyes growing wider as they passed by each word.

"I knew it!" the agent hissed, slamming his hands down before he walked out of the lab, and alerted his agents by triggering the alarm.

The threat Bishop feared was on its way, and now he had to be prepared. Doom was approaching Earth, and later on in that evening, it would strike.

* * *

"Wow," muttered the turtles as they wondered into the lair that Mondo Gecko thought could qualify for their new home. The place the gecko had found truly was wondrous.

It seemed to be some kind of secretly built, underground church meant for people to practice their faith, free from the prejudice of the world. The old structure had definitely seen better days, and some of its pieces lay fractured or ruined. But the most sturdy parts of the church still stood, still providing enough room for an entire family if need be.

Without any prompting from each other, the turtles, Splinter, Zog, and Mondo immediately split up to explore.

"This is what they call home?" wondered Zog, sliding his hand across an old pew, making a cloud of dust fly up into the air.

It was sad to think, that here on this planet, some members were forced to live like this, cowering from the humans that dominated the ground above. Yet, given the fear they would receive if they tried to fit in, did it not make sense for them to hide?

Zog had learned from talking to Raphael's brothers how their origin had come to be. That they had started out their life as simple creatures, until the Kraang's mutagenic ooze changed their lives.

Their coming into being may have been an accident, but their hatred for the Kraang trying to mutate their world was anything but false. It didn't matter if the Kraang had accidently created them or not, the turtles were not about to let them invade their world, and for that Zog felt a sense of pride.

After that, Michelangelo was glad to boast about some of their crazier adventures, while Zog listened to every detail. However, when the talk leaned towards their most current fight, Zog noticed the mood suddenly change.

The brothers went silent, as if suddenly afraid to reveal a great form of pain. Zog took in all of their silence with his blue eyes, noting that what Raphael had said before to him on their way to the Statue of Liberty had been correct.

On their way to the statue, Zog had noticed that something seemed to be bothering his new ally, and he asked the turtle what was wrong. It took a while before Raphael reluctantly answered, and told what he had horribly did to his sister Karai.

It was clear that the pain of his sin could still be felt in the air, the division obvious among his family.

"Maybe I can help cure that pain" thought Zog in his mind " give Raphael a new brotherhood to fight for."

The Triceraton forces would benefit greatly adding another strong warrior to their ranks. His mind made up with this wicked plan, Zog carefully pondered the steps that needed to take root.

When the war finally came, he needed to be prepared. Prepared to kidnap a warrior and stop all forces in his way.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the New York City streets, evening was starting to settle in as Jack Kurtzman walked on breathing a fresh breath of air. The reporter's mind was still whirling about in confusion about Bishop had told him earlier that day.

Should he believe it? Did Raphael's new friend present a very serious threat to Earth?

When had Bishop ever been wrong? Kurtzman couldn't think of a time. Yet, there were sometimes the reporter questioned whether all of his allies actions were legit.

The secret lab was one, these projects he wouldn't explain, even him taking over TCRI once the turtles had finally stopped the Kraang's invasion on Earth.

That same building he approached now, guarded by Bishop's goons, rejecting anyone from the public to set a simple foot in. But Kurtzman didn't share the pain the public did, and was able to slip by the security force with a simple nod.

These men knew him, and they knew his rank among Bishop's region of trust. A secret kept was a promise returned, allowing Kurtzman to open doors to other places people barely even knew.

Once inside of the building, Kurtzman could quickly note all the changes Bishop's men had made. However, before he could take time to admire all of the handiwork, the power to the building suddenly shut down, encompassing everything in a thick blanket of dark.

"What?" wondered Kurtzman, as the backup generators slowly kicked in, illuminating everything in a ghoulish, orange light.

"What's going on in there?!" shouted the guards, running in from their post out front.

Taking their positions next to Kurtzman, both soldiers immediately readied their guns and scanned the fading darkness, wary for the enemy among their mist.

A shadow suddenly moved, and the guards fired, the laser bolts from their guns flying high into the air. The shadow moved downward, and the shots continued to charge.

But whatever the guards had targeted moved quickly, avoiding the blasts with ease, before letting out a burst of yellow fire of his own. Kurtzman cringed as the guards went down in front of him, and he was left standing, staring at the attacker, with murder shining clear in his eyes.

"It's you," Kurtzman breathed, before the creature grinned and slapped him hard onto the ground.

Pain instantly flared up behind the reporter's eyes, and it was everything Kurtzman could do to stay conscious as he watched the creature walk away, and reached for the phone hanging off his belt.

"Slash…Newtralizer…TCRI…Hurry…"

And with that said, Kurtzman blacked out.

* * *

A few moments later, the elevator in the TCRI building opened up to allow its passenger entrance into once was the portal room. Newtralizer took some small pleasure in seeing that fiendish device was destroyed.

After they had just finished fighting off the Kraang invasion, both the Mutanimals and the Turtles weren't willing to take the chance of the brain-like aliens ever making a return.

The portal was now completely useless, smashed into smithereens. Bishop hadn't bothered to rebuild the thing once he and his forces overtook TCRI, but that didn't mean there weren't other interests at heart.

What interested the Newtralizer now though was how he was going to get up to the top of this building where the focus generator laid. Perhaps that large computer over there could gift him with the information he required.

Heart filled with excitement, Newtralizer walked over and looked at the files, studying all of the knowledge the Kraang had been forced to leave behind. His dark smile grew more and more.

Yes, this is what he needed! Today, the Kraang threat was going to end!

"Now to set up the bomb,"

"Don't think so Newt!" said a sudden voice, starting the Newtralizer to turn around and see a gathering of foes determined to stop him from accomplishing his evil deeds.

The Turtles, Mutanimals, and Zog were on scene, all with one purpose, to bring Newtralizer down.


	8. Chapter 8: Fight for the Core

**Ch.8: Fight for the Core**

The moment he first got the call from Kurtzman's phone, the only emotion going through Slash's mind was rage. Immediately, the large turtle picked up his own phone and informed his team and the turtles what was happening at TCRI. They needed to get to the building ASAP!

Minutes later, when they finally arrived, the first thing the Turtles and the Mutanimals saw was the body of Jack Kurtzman lying on the floor, semi-conscious to his surroundings, and laying the bleeding forms of two dead soldiers, lives that the Newtralizer had destroyed.

"Uh" grunted Kurtzman, as Donatello and Pigeon Pete helped lift him off the floor.

"Upstairs," he shakingly pointed, before he passed out again.

Slash glared in the direction that Kurtzman had said, and immediately charged upstairs with his team. Leo and his group were soon to follow, after the blue-masked leader gave instructions to Don.

"You and Pete stay and see what you can do here" said Leo " back us up if you have the time."

Donatello nodded in agreement as he watched his brothers leave, heading for the top of the TCRI building. He doubted he would need to go up there and lend a hand, not with the extra muscle the turtles had dragged along for the ride.

Zog had insisted on coming along with this mission, and was traveling to the top now with Don's brothers in tow. With a dinosaur helping them out, Don knew that he didn't need to rush, and carefully took his time checking over Kurtzman's wounds, all the time praying that his brothers would be alright.

* * *

Moments later, Slash and the others reached where the portal room was, and it didn't take long to spot the menacing form of the Newtralizer inside. The evil lizard was standing next to a computer screen, an evil smile spreading on his lips.

"Now to set up the bomb," he breathed.

"Not so fast Newt!" said Slash, making his old partner turn around " We're not going to let that happen! Get him guys!"

"Yah!" cried the turtles and Mutanimals as they charged.

"You always were a fool Slash," said Newtralizer, pressing a few keys on the computer pad as he spoke.

Moments later, a barrage of robots suddenly entered the room, modified by Bishop's design. The look of these machines caused the heroes to nearly halt in their tracks.

Combined out of what seemed to be a bizarre twist of metal and alien flesh, the machines that approached them now clearly served no other purpose than destroy.

"Yipe!" Mikey cried as one of the beasts lunged for him, its red, electronic claws mere inches from raking across his face, leaving deadly wounds that couldn't have prevented hadn't he shielded himself with nunchucks in time.

With a great shove, Mikey pushed the machine back. Its yellow eyes glowed with fury as it serpentined in for another strike.

By that time though, Leatherhead had moved at once to come to Mikey's defense, while the others charged to attack the machines as well. It was brutal fight against such unknown foes. But Newtralizer grinned, knowing who these machines were.

Aliens, like him, kidnapped by the Kraang, and then made into weapons for their horrifying war. In every facility he had seen, there was always one Kraang building that held these secret beasts under their floors.

A remembrance of him! A backstabber who dared call himself an enemy of the Kraang! An Utrom!

Satisfied that these beasts could keep his enemies at bay, Newtralizer punched in another code and started heading towards a secret elevator, which would straight to the roof of TCRI.

"He's getting away!" yelled Raphael, as he and Zog barely dodged the trio of poison-tipped tails aimed at them by another alien machine.

"Not on my watch!" said Rockwell, levitating above of the fight, leaving Leo and Mikey to battle on their own.

Brown eyes narrowing once he spotted their retreating foe, Dr. Rockwell sent a mind blast straight Newtralizer's way, making the alien lizard stop and cry out in pain.

Angry at the sudden assault, the Newtralizer growled as he turned and glared at the monkey hovering above the fight. That smart, little chimp had always been a source of annoyance. And now he would be dead!

Activating the full power of his laser gauntlets, the Newtralizer took aim at Rockwell and blasted at him with everything he had.

On occasion, Rockwell's mind was an excellent defense to any attack his enemy had planned, but he yet to find the proper shield for laser fire.

Quickly, the monkey tried to dodge his way out of the electronic bolts, but one managed to beam him hard into the side, making him crumble and fall down flat on the ground.

It wasn't long until an angry roar came to take vengeance on this misdeed. Leatherhead suddenly came charging forth and tackled Newtralizer to the ground, pinning the alien beneath him as his jaws took several snaps at his head.

Newtralizer grumbled underneath the alligator's weight. Out of all of Slash's friends, this one had been the one to give him the most trouble in the past. And now, it was time to end it!

Before Leatherhead knew what hit him, a major shock traveled through all of his scales, making him cry out in pain.

"Leatherhead!" yelled Slash concerned, seeing his troubled friend.

Within seconds, the alligator was lying face down among the ground, while the Newtralizer climbed out from underneath, and started heading towards the elevator again.

"Rah!" cried Slash, knocking another alien droid aside with his mace, before rushing to check on his friend.

"Leatherhead! No!" cried Mikey, who had seen his friend get shocked as well, but was helpless to go with Slash since he and Leo were currently cornered in by two wolf-like driods.

"Are you okay?" asked Slash, once he reached Leatherhead's side.

"Yes…" the mutant weakly muttered, then violently demanded " Go!"

Understanding immediately what that meant, Slash nodded at Leatherhead and took after Newtralizer in a rage. The alien had made it to the elevator, and was starting to go up the shaft, but Slash jumped up and grabbed one of the cables hanging from underneath, tagging along for the ride.

"Come on Zog! Let's go!" said Raph, as the dino smashed the three tailed droid with his fist. Briefly, he turned to his brothers. " You guys take care of those two. Me and Zog are going to help Slash."

"Raph wait!" yelled Leo, but it was to late, his red-masked brother and dinosaur friend were already running out of sight.

* * *

Moments later, up on the roof, the doors to the elevator opened up wide allowing the Newtralizer to step and approach the center of the floor. It was there where his target laid, the focus generator, which would make his bomb come to greater use.

Without a second thought, the Newtralizer leaned down next to device and placed in the core, making an eerie, green light shine up from between the two pylons on the roof, right into the sky above. Dark clouds swirled around the green glow, as if illuminating the presence that death was soon to come.

"In a few minutes" said the Newtralizer, setting a timer on the bomb " this will all be over."

And that's when a smack decided to crash against his head.

Pushed sideways by the blow, Newtralizer growled as his gaze came back into focus and he saw that Slash had followed him up here, looking mad and ready to whack him again with the mace.

With great force the mace swung, but this time Newtralizer was ready and dodged out of the weapon's way. Gritting his teeth, Newtralizer fired his laser gauntlet at Slash, but the large turtle was quick to shield with his shell, making the yellow beams bounce off, leaving no harm.

Then, acting quick, Slash turned around and thrusted his mace right towards the Newtralizer's head. The weapon soared like a deadly missile, its spikes threatening to drive deep into the lizard's flesh.

Newtralizer immediately bent down to avoid the blow, feeling the air swoop by as the weapon shot past near the top of his skull.

However, the threat of the mace only served to be a distraction, and by the time Newtralizer realized the true threat, it was to late to move.

In mere seconds, Slash was upon him, struggling to keep the Newtralizer down in a power hold. Newtralizer knew better than anyone how strong his old partner was, but he was willing to go down that easily without a fight.

Salamanderians are all warriors by trade, and Newtralizer was considered to be the strongest of them all. It was time for Slash to learn that fact.

With skill, Newtralizer managed to squirm his way out of Slash's hold, and then turned, wrestling against the larger turtle, seeking dominance in the fight.

Slash's green eyes glared back with hate as he pushed hard on the Newtralizer's arms. If the fight continued at this pace, there was no doubt that the Newtralizer would lose. Luckily for the alien lizard, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

Before Slash even knew what hit him, the same shock that had passed through Leatherhead suddenly surged through his body as well. The Newtralizer's claws were digging deep into his hands, releasing sparks of electricity, shooting out to bring Slash to his knees before crumbling to the ground.

"Should have kept yourself updated on what the Kraang were doing all this time," said Newtralizer to Slash, who just glared in his weakened state.

"Now Slash" said Newtralizer, powering up his gun " it's time for you to die."

However, before a single shot could fire, something soared through the air, disabling the Newtralizer's weapon before he could eliminate Slash. Shocked, the Newtralizer looked stunned when he saw a shuriken wedged into his gun, and then glared up as he realized that company had arrived.

"Remember me?" asked Raph, twirling his sai, Zog grunting behind him as he was too ready to charge.

Without a moment's later to spare, the three foes engaged.


	9. Chapter 9: Terrors Arise

**Ch.9: Terrors Arise**

It was evening by the time April and Casey emerged back onto the streets, with looks of worry clear in their eyes.

Not after they had seen the news reports, and had to suffer another long, boring day of school, the two friends had met up and decided to go to the turtles to see if they had any answers. Nothing went by in this city that usually didn't go through them first.

Casey hoped they were okay though. Last time he had saw them, they had just saved him from getting his head blown off by Nick, before running off to rest after a fierce battle with the Foot.

However, just as the two friends finally reached the lair, they were shocked to see a sight of horror lying before their eyes.

The turtles home was a total wreck, looking like had been blasted in by some kind of bomb. Various things lay torn and scattered about, obviously from the result of a relentless search.

"Whoa" said Casey, finding the question in his throat difficult to breathe " What the heck happened here?"

April just shrugged her shoulders in response, and the two divided to search what was left of the lair.

"I can't sense them anywhere nearby" April thought as she entered the dining room " Where could they have went?"

Opening the freezer, she noticed that Ice Cream Kitty was no longer there. This could be both a good and bad sign. Mikey was obviously alright if he had time to grab his favorite pet. But that still didn't explain if the others were, or what had caused such destruction to the lair.

"I can't find them anywhere Red" said Casey, coming to join April a few minutes later " Think we should try calling them on their T-Phones?"

"No" said April, shaking her head " I have a feeling that they're alright. Looks like they stopped and gathered supplies before heading somewhere safe."

"The Underground" said Casey in sudden realization " They probably went to see Slash."

"Do you remember where it is?" asked April.

"Not really" said Casey, scratching the back of his neck " It was kind of blocked by an illusion the first time I saw it. Anyway, I bet my Pop's is getting worried by now, maybe we should head up back to the streets."

Nodding that she knew what it was like to have an over-protective parent, and the fact that they would find nothing else here, April agreed and followed Casey back up to the surface, the two teens slowly letting the worry die from their thoughts as they climbed above ground.

It was only when the friends reached fresh air that their worries suddenly returned, no longer directed at their missing friends. Instead it was directed at TCRI, the same TCRI that should have been completely abandoned now that the Kraang were gone.

A massive beam of light shown straight from its rooftop, encasing the dark sky in an eerie, green glow.

"What the…?" trailed the question in Casey's thoughts.

"This can't be!" said April in panicked disbelief " They can't be back!"

"The Kraang?" said Casey, finally able to breathe the word.

It seemed impossible since the Turtles and the Mutanimals sent them packing back to Dimension X. Did those alien brains really find a way to come back? In Casey's mind, there was only one way to find out for sure.

"Come on Red!" said the vigilante " Let's go!"

With that said, Casey ran off, with a shocked April following quickly behind.

However, despite April's speed, Casey managed to maintain a good head start and was calculating the next turn he needed to take to TCRI when a scream suddenly stopped him in his tracks.

"April!" said Casey, immediately recognizing the yell, and ran back to where he had left his friend in the dust.

When finally reached the source of the scream, April was no longer in sight, and in his way stood Hun, leader of the Purple Dragon Gang.

"Feel like a little sport Hockey-Boy?" mocked the Bruce Lee reject.

"Bring it!" growled Casey, as he unsheathed one of his hockey sticks and charged " Goongala!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outside of TCRI, Donatello breathed a big sigh of relief as he finished up patching the rest of Jack Kurtzman's wounds. The reporter was extremely grateful for the ease of the pain, and gave Don a slight nod in respect.

"Gak!" said Pigeon Pete, suddenly catching both of his companions eyes " Something bad is happening up there!"

Looking up to see what Pete was talking about, Donatello's gaze traveled up to the roof, red eyes widening in fear when he saw the green light shining from the top. Not only that, but there appeared to be some shadowy figures fighting up there as well.

"My brothers!" said Don, standing on his feet " I have to get up there and help!"

"How?" asked Kurtzman " You'll never reach the top in time!"

Here, Don looked at Pete. Seconds later, the purple-masked turtle was riding on the mutant pigeon's back, all the way to the top.

"This was a really bad idea!" screamed Don, as he held on to Pete for dear life.

Down below, Kurtzman found it hard to not laugh at the sight, when his cellphone suddenly rang.

Answering it, Kurtzman quickly picked it and put it to his ear, and his smile quickly turned to a frown. A moment later, Kurtzman hung up, dread now clouding his eyes.

Bishop and the EPF were on their way. Things had just gotten worse.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of TCRI, Leo was trying to his rage under control after Raph and Zog had left, leaving him and Mike to fight alone. These alien machines had both of them trapped, and a little extra strength would have been a helpful means.

Of course Raph never thought the consequences of his actions through, and that only made Leo more upset as he sliced his katanas again at the machines.

"What we do now Leo?" asked Mikey, hoping that his leader had managed to come up with some sort of a plan.

Unfortunately, Leo didn't have one, and the distance between them and the machines creased, However, before these two wolf-like, alien droids could even think of taking a bite of them, that little bit of strength Leo had wished for finally appeared.

"Rah!" screamed a now conscious Leatherhead, destroying both machines in one blow.

"Great work dude!" Mikey called to his friend, while the lizard just smiled.

Even though the gator was still mainly weakened by Newtralizer's attack, he had recovered just in time to see his friends in need.

Now that the machines were done, it was time focus back on more important cause.

"Alright" said Leo, ready to issue a command " let's go up there and…,"

"Wait! Stop!" a voice interrupted, and Leonardo turned to see Doctor Rockwell standing back on his feet. The blue-masked turtle had almost forgotten that the mutant monkey was there.

"Rockwell, what is it?" asked Leatherhead.

"An urgent message from Slash" said Rockwell "Newtralizer has activated the bomb. It's getting ready to go off as we speak. Raph and Zog are helping him try to disable it, but things aren't looking good so far. We need to shut the power down immediately."

"Then let's get to it!" said Leo " Or else all of New York will be destroyed!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the roof, breaths pounded hard out of Raphael's chest as he stood back to recover a little bit from the fight.

Even though drained from his fight with Slash, the Newtralizer still had enough energy to dodge as Raphael attacked fiercely with his sai.

While the red-masked turtle attacked the alien lizard with all his fight, Zog ran over to Slash, to help the larger reptile back on his feet. For a moment Slash just glared, looking at the fight and the pulsing green light beyond, intensifying in a more dangerous glow.

Extending his claws out, Slash nodded to Zog, which the Triceraton returned, and both behemoths instantly moved to help Raphael during his fight.

With amazing speed, the two titans grabbed onto the Newtralizer's body, wrestling to hold him down.

"Raph! The bomb!" Slash yelled to his comrade.

"Right!" said Raph, and immediately ran over to where the focus generator lay.

In seconds he was there, staring the device down, the circular metal wheel, with the pulsing core engaged right in its center. The light was intense, and Raphael had to shield his eyes from growing blind.

How was he supposed to stop this thing? If he pierced the core, the result could be damaging to all of New York, but what about the metal wheel around it?

Guessing it was his best shot, Raphael raised up his sai and was about to strike the metal wheel when all of sudden, a scream of pain distracted him from delivering the final blow.

Somehow, the Newtralizer had escaped again, using his new electrified claws to break out of Slash and Zog's hold. Before Raphael could even move, the Newtralizer ran and wacked him hard with his tail, sending the turtle plummeting off the roof's edge.

"No!" screamed Slash when he saw his former master fall.

Confident that he had killed one of the nuisances that had stood in his way, Newtralizer turned to finish off Slash and Zog when a yell suddenly caught his ear.

Turning around, Newtralizer stared in surprise as Pigeon Pete suddenly dived in, with two angry turtles riding on his back. Raphael had survived his fall, by the luck of Pigeon Pete and Don flying up to the roof in that time.

With five mutants now, Newtralizer quickly found himself outmatched, and was brought down with force as the group attacked him mercilessly from all sides. It didn't matter if he wielded a new deadly weapon or not, in the face of great numbers, even the strongest enemies were destined to fall.

A few moments later, the Newtralizer lay fully unconscious on the ground. The battle against their enemy had been won, but the bomb still seemed ready to blow.

"Did we do all this for nothing?" Raph thought, when suddenly the power shut down and the green light faded from the sky.

Rockwell and the others had done it. With no power now, there was no danger of the core exploding, it was safe now to retrieve, their mission was done.

"Well that's a relief" said Don, as Raphael bent down to retrieve the core. " I was sure we'd…What?!"

Suddenly the whole ground started to shake and rumble, as if a massive earthquake wanted to bring the tower down. Worry started to plague the mutants thoughts.

"What happened?" said Raph " Did we do something wrong?"

"No look!" said Zog, and pointed out towards the sea.

Everyone turned to see where the alien dino was pointing, and gasped in disbelief as the face of the ocean started to bubble and foam. Something was rising up, deep from beneath its surface.

Soon, the shape of a familiar metal sphere could be seen, slowing rising its way into the sky.

"The Technodrome," thought Raph.

The Kraang had returned. And it was no doubt their presence signaled doom for them all.


	10. Chapter 10: The Sounds of War

**Ch.10: The Sounds of War**

"Wah hahaha!" laughed Kraang Sub-prime as the Technodrome continued to rise up into the sky.

Finally, after two years of being stuck at the bottom of the ocean, the Technodrome was ready to come out and cause terror once more. And this time, there was nothing the Turtles could do to stop them.

"New York" yelled Kraang Sub-prime, as the Kraang soldiers moved out with their weapons prepared " get ready for re-invasion!"

His evil laugh filled the Technodrome once more, and Kraang Prime smiled, knowing that his ultimate goal was within reach.

"Finally" thought Kraang Prime " the Earth will be ours, and our enemies will bow to me."

* * *

Meanwhile, at TCRI, not long after they saw the Technodrome rise up into the air, Raphael and the others immediately raced down to tell Leo and his team what they had saw from above. The blue-masked leader was stunned.

Even though they had learned from Zog that the Kraang had returned, not one of them had thought about the Technodrome rising back up from the ocean deep.

The threat of the Newtralizer and his bomb seemed to be the important issue then, but now none of them could ignore the danger of the invading, alien brains.

"We've got to take care of this fast!" thought Leo, and immediately ushered the entire group to head downstairs and exit TCRI.

Leo had no idea what they could do yet to stop this attack, but hopefully, when they got and he had time to think, then maybe…Wham! Fate had different plans.

A few minutes later, Leo groaned as his eyes finally fluttered awake, looking into the darkness of a cold and empty room. Metal shackles lay braced around his arms and legs, preventing him from moving very far.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

Thinking hard, Leo tried to remember all the events that occurred before he blacked out, but only recalled the brief flash of pain.

Were his brothers and the Mutanimals here as well? Leo thought he could hear groaning coming just from the hall. If they were, the blue-masked turtle only hoped that they were alright, and focused his mind on who to blame for their confinement to this prison.

Wait, prison…these walls…he had seen these walls before…and there was only one place he knew who had them.

Now Leo knew who their captor was, and the name rolled off his tongue like venom.

"Bishop."

* * *

Meanwhile, locked away in another cell, Raphael was also awake, struggling hard to break free from his chains, and growling in disgust when all that effort only served to hurt his wrists.

Fire burned in his deep, green eyes. Wherever he was, whoever had caught them, he didn't care! All Raphael knew was that someone had to pay.

Finally, the red-masked turtle's prayer seemed to be answered when the door to his cell suddenly opened, and the shadow of his captor laid on the floor. Although the light only showed half of his face, Raph knew instantly who was this evil man.

"Bishop," the turtle growled.

The government agent showed no reaction to the hatred in Raphael's tone, and silently glared back, pure cold showing in his eyes.

"You have no idea what you have done Raphael," Bishop finally said.

Raphael ignored the comment and instantly glared.

"Where are we?" he demanded " Where are my brothers?!"

"Don't worry" said Bishop " your brothers and friends will be fine, but the Triceraton cannot be set free, he is far to dangerous to let go."

"Doesn't seem like the dangerous one to me" Raph growled " What kind of agent are you anyway?"

"You have no idea the war you've stepped into" said Bishop " whatever happens next will be on your head, not mine. Until then you can rot in here, and in time, I might care to let you go."

With that said, Bishop walked out and closed the door, leaving Raphael alone in the darkness again, frustrated and wondering if everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Outside, Casey was wondering the same thing. Chest pumping with heavy breaths, Casey paused to wonder just how chaotic his life had become in mere seconds of climbing back up to the streets.

First, there was that light shining from TCRI. Then, there was a scream and April was gone. Finally, there was his fight with Hun, that ended only seconds ago, when the EPF suddenly came in to attack a now airborne Technodrome floating in the sky.

Had New York just chosen this one night to become mad?

Casey quickly batted out the panic from his thoughts, and focused his mind back on the important task at hand. The government could handle the Kraang for all he cared, but right now his main concern was April.

While he was fighting with Hun, Casey had learned that the Purple Dragons had been tracking them since the friends had left their homes that night. Nick had not forgotten his last encounter with Casey at the store. The time had come to finish the job that was meant to be complete long ago.

"Nick!" Casey growled in his mind.

Everything else became a blur; the fight with Hun, the military, the Kraang. April needed him, and she needed him now!

And without the Turtles around to offer him aid, Casey would have to fight the Purple Dragons completely alone.

"So be it then," said Casey, sliding his mask over his face, and then ran off as fast as he could to save his friend.

* * *

The Kraang were not impressed by the military force stacked up against them. Did the people of Earth really think that they could do better this time?

Their puny weapons and tactics had barely made a difference during the last invasion. There was no doubt again, that this time, the Kraang would end up back on top.

Already, the EPF forces Bishop had sent were falling to their knees, making Kraang Sub-prime grin with a sinister smirk.

"Haha! Yes!" he cried " Today, the Earth falls!"

Then, suddenly, a new enemy alarm interrupted his victory cheers.

"Oh…Grr!" Kraang Sub-prime growled " What now?!"

And that is when he saw something that truly frightened him on the view screen.

Far above the Technodrome, an armada of pointed, rock-like ships had arrived. Familiar rock-like ships that held the Kraang's greatest enemies of all time.

The backup Zog had signaled for had come. The Triceratons have arrived.


	11. Chapter 11: A Conflict Within

**Ch.11: A Conflict Within**

Up on his post, the commander of the Triceratons grinned. Captain Mozar was thrilled. Zog's signal had been correct. This planet was infested with Kraang. It would be a pleasure to destroy it.

"Gunners" commanded Mozar to his men " hurry up and take out their resistance. Ground troops, begin invading the city. Zorak, you and your team see if you can locate Zog. The Kraang die today."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the medical wing of Bishop's base, Kurtzman winced as he leaned over to touch the injury on his side. Donatello had done well patching him up, but Bishop's team was thorough in their task to see if he didn't carry some sort of horrible disease.

Speak of the devil, just at that moment, Bishop arrived, as cool and composed as Kurtzman had ever seen.

Something was wrong about his friend. Even though Kurtzman knew Bishop for a long time now, there was still something shady lurking underneath.

His imprisonment of the Turtles and the Mutanimals definitely hit Kurtzman as wrong. Who cares if they had accidently allied themselves with a Triceraton? They were heroes, and didn't deserve to be treated this way.

But Bishop would have none of it, and continued to walk on his way.

To the government agent, things seemed to be rapidly slipping from of his control. Earth was his claim. These invading forces had no right to govern it, even if one of those forces used to be his own kind.

With that, Bishop loosened up the belly of his shirt and revealed himself as a Kraang, but not of the hive mind Kraang Prime controlled.

He had broken away from that horrible position years ago, making his brother, the new Sub-Prime, upset that he had joined the Utrom instead. He was seen as a traitor to them all. And to the Utrom, who didn't know it yet, he would soon betray them as well.

"Time to how well my new pet is progressing," Bishop thought, as he entered his secret lab.

Inside one of the tubes, the Newtralizer's body silently floated, unaware that his DNA was being slowly altered as we speak. Soon, he would be nothing more than a tool for Bishop to command.

And as soon as he was done, Raphael would be next. Bishop smiled at the plans he had for him.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the cells, Slash grunted and growled as he struggled to snap out of the shackles binding him to the wall. But even his enormous strength proved no match to get free. Bishop had built his prison well.

"Slash," suddenly called out a low voice, stunning the large turtle and making him hold still.

"Rockwell?" Slash thought.

"Slash, can you hear me?" said the monkey's voice again.

"Yeah, but just barely" thought Slash to the doc " Where are we? Are the others okay?"

"As far as I can tell" responded Rockwell " they're fine, but I can't sense everyone's mind. My amplifier was taken away, so my physic powers are weak."

"Then let's make a plan to get out of here then" said Slash " we've got to stop…,"

"Slash? What's wrong?" said Rockwell, worried.

The door to Slash's cell suddenly opened, and the large turtle was surprised to see Kurtzman standing on the other side.

"Jack" said Slash, confused " What are you doing here?"

"No time to explain" said Kurtzman, pushing a button to release Slash's shackles " we have to free the others and get out of here. The Earth is in great danger, and there is little time to save us all."

Nodding in agreement, Slash didn't question the situation and went with Jack, determined to free his friends.

* * *

Elsewhere in the complex, Dr. Chaplin held deep regret that he had tasked to get rid of Zog.

He was a fantastic, alien specimen. A true pride to his whole race. But he was also a very dangerous tool, and Bishop's use for him was at an end.

Dr. Chaplin could still remember the moment he had helped Bishop escape with the Triceraton. Plucking him from right under the Kraang's tentacles, so his DNA could prove useful here in the lab. That was one job interview Chaplin would never forget.

Zog's cell door was right in front of him now. It was time to carry out the plan.

Pressing the button in order, Chaplin unlocked the code to Zog's cage, readying his weapon when…Wham!

Something hard hit with such force, that Chaplin was sent painfully sprawling across the room. The poison gun he had held leapt uselessly to the floor, no longer a danger to be feared.

Seconds later, Zog walked out of his cell, broken shackles held tight in his hand, and his expression of anger fierce.

Never again would he be so easily caged. This planet would pay dearly for their sins.

But first, there was a great matter that needed to be done, and Zog was determined to accomplish the task.


	12. Chapter 12: A Dangerous Time

**Ch.12: A Dangerous Time**

Dust, the immortal enemy Renet just wished that she could make disappear. Everywhere she walked, the little devil seemed to have spread to every nook and cranny in the halls of space and time.

This was the punishment Lord Simultaneous endowed upon her for interfering with the past. Even though the elderly time master recognized the goodness in her actions at setting Splinter free, upsetting the balance to the past was still a crime that could not be overlooked.

The one main rule all time masters must learn and follow, was to never interfere to much in the past. Some horrors were necessary in order for a brighter future to bloom.

It was hard sometimes to just stand by and watch as these horrors passed, but regardless, you had to keep your composure and save your power for when it was needed at a harsher time.

Renet cringed as she looked into the Orb of Hindsight, seeing the Earth in the present plunged into a galactic war. The Triceratons and the Kraang, Renet prayed and hope for the people on Earth to survive this siege, while she cursed herself for being unable to anything but stand around and watch.

Watch and hope, that in the end, the Earth wouldn't suffer a dire fate.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in New York City, Casey Jones let out a big sigh of relief as he finally reached the door leading into the Purple Dragons lair.

Getting here had hardly been a piece of cake, given the numerous EPF forces roaming the streets, shooting their blasters up at the Kraang and the Triceratons flying above.

"I need to rescue April, and get us out of here!" thought Casey to himself.

With that thought in mind, Casey took a deep breath and slipped inside of the door.

The interior of the hideout was just what you would expect from a group of thugs. Filthy, dirty, and dimly lit.

The choke of unease could be tasted very clearly in the air. Sticking to the shadows, Casey silently sneaked his way through the lair, alert for any for any attackers who may want to jump out and decided to strike him from behind.

For a few breath-taking moments, nothing unusual occurred, and then a scream decided to shatter the silence.

"April!" Casey yelled, and immediately ran to where he had heard the scream.

Dashing into another room, Casey arrived to see April O' Neil held violently at knife point, with her wrists chained to the floor. Casey growled at the thug holding the knife, and then turned as the door suddenly slammed shut behind him, locked by another thug, trapping him in the room.

Knowing now that there was no escape, Casey grunted and turned his gaze towards Nick, who stood his ground smiling slyly next to the thug threatening April with a knife. Wordlessly, Casey unsheathed one of his hockey sticks, and lowered into a stance, ready to fight.

"She has nothing to do with this Nick!" said Casey " Let her go! This no time to get your revenge."

"No?" said Nick, drawing out a knife of his own " I'd say now is the perfect time. If the world is supposed to end today, I don't want to have any regrets. You will fight me Casey. And I will kill you."

"Then bring it on Nick!" said Casey, sliding down his mask " Bring it on!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back down in the sewers, in the ruins of the old church, Master Splinter was beginning to worry about his sons.

A few moments ago, Slash had called, saying that there was trouble at TCRI. The Newtralizer had finally decided to make his move, and planned to set the bomb up there, on top the Kraang's old secret base.

Knowing that the situation was extremely urgent, the turtles wasted no time abandoning the study of their new home to race off and help the Mutanimals erase this threat. Zog had accompanied, running from behind. It had been a couple of hours now.

Was the threat to New York finally gone? Did the turtles manage to deactivate the bomb in time?

Master Splinter didn't know. All he could do was hope and pray that everything would be alright, and let his worry float off to edge of the stone walls.

Finally, thinking that he had seen enough of the church, Master Splinter turned to Mondo and suggested that perhaps it was time for them to return to the Underground home. Mondo nodded and took the lead back to the lair, asking Master what he thought about the place he had found.

Master Splinter agreed that it did seem like a great place to make a home. After a few cleaning and improvements, Splinter believed that they all could settle in well.

Suddenly, the trip back to the Underground was interrupted when Mondo Gecko suddenly stopped and gasped. Something disturbing had caught the lizard's eye.

"Oh my gosh!" said Mondo, running up to the figure on the floor " Mr. X! Due, are you okay?"

Master Splinter immediately turned to see what had caught Mondo's concern. His eyes widened with surprise.

It was Fishface, looking weary, beaten, and brutally cut. Blood oozed across his scales, nearly invisible against the scarlet shade.

What was Fishface doing down here? And who had caused him to be in such an injured state?

Master Splinter immediately took pity upon his enemy, and scooped the mutant up in his arms, not caring for the blood that now seeped into his robe.

"We need to return to the Underground, fast!" said Splinter to Mondo.

Nodding that he understood, both Master Splinter and Mondo increased their pace towards the Underground, Fishface's life dangling in their claws.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Bishop's base, there was great relief as Kurtzman finished setting all of the others free, but tension still hung high in the air.

What was Jack doing here in the first place? Why would he be at Bishop's base?

The reporter promised to explain everything later, when all of a sudden, an alarm decided to shrill throughout the base.

"Wha…What's going on?" asked Leonardo, suddenly worried about the alarm, unaware that the sudden reason for the alert was two guards had noticed Dr. Chaplin knocked down, and there was something attacking the base from the outside.

"Not good" said Kurtzman " We've got to move!"

Urging the others to run, the reporter dashed off to where he hoped would be a quick escape. The hangar doors couldn't be closed down yet, the lockdown had only just begun.

Traveling behind the pack, Raphael ran in order to keep pace with the run when his mind turned around to his last conversation with Bishop, threatening to terminate Zog.

"Zog! I have to go back!" thought Raph, doing a 180 to run the other way.

Leaving everyone else behind, Raphael ran to go rescue his dino friend. Bishop had said he was going to kill the dinosaur, Raphael had to rescue him before they decided to end Zog's life.

The shrieking alarm serving as an adrenaline boost, Raphael ran with all of his might, desperate to reach Zog's cage, when suddenly the multiple clicking of guns stopped him in his tracks.

General Striker and his men were suddenly there, blocking the red-masked turtle's path to proceed. Once General Striker realized who he and his men had stopped, a wicked grin lit up on the general's face.

"You again" said Striker to Raphael " Well, you're not getting away this time punk."

Raphael growled and pulled out his sais, ready to fight, when all of a sudden Zog burst in and attacked the military group.

It didn't take long for the entire group of soldiers to be decimated. General Striker was violently impaled with a horn, while the rest of his men fell prey to Zog's crushing fists.

Raphael could nothing more than just stand and watch, mouth agape to the horrible scene that was taking place.

In a span of a few seconds, Zog had literally killed about a dozen people who had been standing right there. Sure, maybe they had been about to take his own life, but Raphael still didn't want to see Striker and his men dead.

"Raphael, come here!" commanded Zog, snapping the turtle out of his thoughts once the bloodbath was over.

Still stunned, Raph unconsciously moved closer to Zog, not thinking about his actions, when the dinosaur suddenly thrust out one of his hands and gripped his arm tight.

"Hey, let go!" said Raph, now trying to pull his arm free, but it was already to late for escape.

"This is Zog!" the Triceraton shouted up to the air " Beam us up 912!"

"Acknowledged," sounded a loud voice from outside.

Before Raphael knew, an orange light surrounded both him and Zog, and a desperate scream sounded out from the way he came.

"No!" shouted Leo's voice, as he rushed up to see the scene.

"Leo!" shouted Raph at seeing his brother, but the blue-masked turtle was already to late.

Within moments, the teleportation was complete, and the orange light flared and vanished, making Leonardo cover his eyes. And when he reopened them, both Raphael and Zog were gone.


	13. Chapter 13: Enemies and Foes

**Ch.13: Enemies and Foes**

Xever felt like he could feel that he was drowning, which was ironic given his mutant state, since drowning never seemed to be a problem for a fish. Unless that is, you were drowning in blood.

Everywhere around him, blood and darkness twirled around Xever, mocking him with its evil tone. Then, suddenly, a light came, snapping him back into reality as he found himself waking up in the Underground lair.

At first, Xever was confused, glancing at the bandages that were wrapped around his body, covering the cuts on his skin. So many mutants, such unfamiliar surroundings, had one these few helped and stopped to ease his pain.

"Oh, good you're awake!" suddenly sounded a very familiar voice to Xever's ear.

Turning around, the mutant glanced to see Mondo Gecko coming towards him, arms out with a grin.

"Jason?" said Xever confused " Wha…Why are you here? Where are…,"

"It seems like the medicine has worked well," spoke out another voice.

Xever recognized this one too, and turned to glare at the rat.

"You! What are you doing here?"

"That I believe should be my question" said Master Splinter, kneeling down in front of the mutant fish " I discovered you bleeding and hurt, lying in the sewers, and brought you here to heal. Now I wonder, why this occurred."

Fishface sat silent, wondering if he should explain anything at all to his enemy. But thinking back to what happened back at the Shredder's lair once Splinter and the Turtles escaped, caused cold shivers to surge through his scales.

Growing up on the streets, Xever was no stranger to fear. He had to live with it almost every day of his life, and he learned to harness that power to intimidate others besides himself. Shredder had ruined that though, and now, fear was Xever's enemy once more.

Sighing in defeat, and figuring it wouldn't hurt to explain the truth, Fishface looked at Splinter and began to tell his tale.

"It was not long after you guys had left the lair" said Fishface " our first concern was to check on Shredder, and see how injured he'd become during your fight. He was unconscious for quite a good while, but when he awoke, that's when the troubles began…,"

 **(FlashBack)**

 _"Master Shredder, are you okay?" asked Rahzar nervously as he looked towards his lord._

 _Shredder just stood silent, standing before his throne, his back turned towards his men. The final moments of the battle still rang clear through his mind._

 _Even though he was unconscious, Shredder could still remember the full extent of his power as he guided Raphael's final hand, and slain his own daughter, Karai._

 _Once again, Hamato Yoshi and his brood had managed to take something very special away from him. First it was Tang Shen, and now Karai. They would pay for it all in blood._

 _"Is he alright?" asked Rocksteady, quietly to the others._

 _"Don't know" said Bebop " think we should go poke him?"_

 _"That would be a very unwise idea," said Tiger Claw._

 _"Agreed" said Rahzar, and then pushed Fishface forward " You do it!"_

 _"What?" said Fishface shocked " Why me?"_

 _"Because if you hadn't let Splinter escape in the first place" said Rahzar " none of this would have happened."_

 _"You can't blame me for that!" said Fishface, glaring at the wolf " I told you…,"_

 _"Enough!" interrupted Shredder, turning around and stopping the argument cold. His mutated face and gleering, yellow eyes continued to screech fear into the soul. " I had enough of your insolent babbling. All of you are useless to me. Barely worthy to kiss the ground in which I stand on."_

 _"Master Shredder we…," started Rahzar, before his sentence ended with an 'Urk!'_

 _Suddenly the mutant wolf was floating up a dozen feet above the ground, his chest cloaked in twisting, black shadows, gripping him like hands. Some of those shadows even twisted around his throat, squeezing what seemed to be every last breath._

 _Seeing no honor in Rahzar's death, Tiger Claw immediately jet-propelled near Shredder to convince his master to stop._

 _"Master Shredder please" begged the tiger " we only wish to serve you."_

 _"Then serve me you shall" said Shredder, shooting shadows at Tiger Claw as well " Now, destroy!"_

 _The shadows vanished around the two mutants, and when they were gone, Fishface, Rocksteady, and Bebop stood horrified by what had changed._

 _All of the emotion from Rahzar and Tiger Claw's face was completely drained. Their eyes were soulless, as if their will was not theirs anymore. Which the three mutants were quick to find out it wasn't as Rahzar and Tiger Claw charged._

 _While Rahzar charged after Fishface, Tiger Claw got busy hunting down Rocksteady and Bebop._

 _At first, Fishface tried to fight against Rahzar, but had very little luck in striking blows. Whatever Shredder had done, Rahzar's attack power and speed had been dangerously increased, making him more deadly than before._

 _Fishface cringed as multiple blows cut across his scales, spilling blood onto the floor._

 _There was no denying that he was on the losing end here. He had to escape, before Shredder's madness ended them all._

 **(End FlashBack)**

"I can't remember what happened after that," Fishface told Splinter " But now you what to expect. Shredder is going to destroy us all."

Splinter just stood silent, stunned by Fishface's tale, and worried about the darkness in his old enemy.

To think that once, a long time ago, these two had been raised to be brothers, for only one to grow wicked and commit these horrid, evil things.

"Saki" Splinter thought to himself " you are even further away than the brother I used to know."

Shredder had to be stopped. The world needed to be saved. Splinter only hoped that things would turn out alright in the end.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Purple Dragon's lair, April couldn't believe what was happening right before her eyes as she watched as Casey and Nick dueled around to the death. This was the old friend Casey had told her about months ago? He certainly didn't seem like a friend anymore.

Terror lit up inside of April's eyes as she continued to watch the two boys fight, remembering what Casey said to her about accidently injuring Nick in the past. Obviously Nick still bore a grudge, looking the pay back the pain Casey had delivered to him long ago, even if it meant his former best friend's death.

Struggling to come up with a solution with her hands chained and a thug holding a blade to her throat, April gasped as Casey suddenly fell to the ground and nearly got stabbed as Nick lunged in to attack.

"Why isn't he fighting harder?" thought April, as she realized that Casey was holding back.

"Come on Case" mocked Nick " aren't you going to try to hurt me again? Send me back to the hospital where I belong?"

"You know that I didn't do that on purpose Nick!" said Casey, holding his stick " I didn't want to hurt you then, and I don't want now. Just let April go and let's end this! End this grudge once and for all!"

"The only way I'll end it" said Nick, charging to attack again " is with your blood!"

"No, no! Stop!" April screamed in her mind. She could no longer bear to witness this.

Former friends battling against each other. Casey holding back because he didn't want to cause hurt once more. And her sitting there, being helpless, it made April's mind fill up with rage.

In response to her turmoil, that's when her physic sense activated. A sense built into her by the Kraang, that see was still learning hard to control.

She had managed to control it to some degree, and was able to sense things out and sometimes enter another person's mind. But in terms of her emotional state, those powers were still out of control.

Compulsive, physic waves exited her brain whenever she was angry or afraid, knocking out everyone who had the unfortunate luck of being within her range. That's what happened to Casey and the Purple Dragons now.

Angry at Nick, and for all that he was doing to her friend, April's physic blast exploded out into a solid ring of energy, knocking out everyone that stood. Casey and Nick were blasted away from each other, weapons falling from their hands.

The thugs next to April were completely out cold, since they had the unfortunate luck being closer to the epicenter of the blast. Once her rage was over, April opened her eyes to see Casey moaning in the corner, slowly recovering from the shock.

"Casey, are you alright?" asked April concerned.

"I guess so" said Casey, looking towards his friend " Man, that was…,"

"Die!" suddenly growled a sinister voice.

"Look out!" shouted April.

Knowing immediately that he was in danger, Casey, without looking, quickly grabbed at one of the weapons that now lay scattered across the floor, and turned towards his opponent, thrusting his arm towards his gut.

A gasp choked through the air, as Casey looked to see Nick hovering over him, with a knife in his hand, and blood dripping through his teeth. His whole body, losing grip on the weapon that he held, as he looked unbelievably at his chest.

Casey followed his stare, and realized with horror what he had just done. The weapon he had blindly grabbed was sharp, and clearly not as merciful as his own. This had been one of the Purple Dragons weapons; a knife, meant to end April's life or his own.

Instead, it had ended Nick's, and Casey could barely think through the shock, as his former best friend collapsed dead to the ground. But before Nick passed on, his mouth managed to deliver some final words.

"Happy now Casey? You were always jealous weren't you? I bet you're glad you killed me."

* * *

"Kill them!" shouted Mozar commandingly to his troops " Destroy them all!"

Things were beginning to turn around in their great battle against the Kraang. The spineless slugs seemed to have grown a little backbone in the recent years, but the Triceratons were always more than ready for a fight. Even when the Earth forces joined in attempt to help their Kraang friends.

"Bring it on Kraang-slugs! We have the trump card you once used ready for our revenge" thought Mozar in his mind " If only we had managed to find the core, before Sergeant Zog contacted us to…"

"Commander Mozar" suddenly interrupted one of the Triceraton techs down below " we just got a response from the scout team sent out to locate Zog. The found him locked up inside some kind of government facility. He had just escaped, and asked them to wait for rescue until he brought someone special onboard."

"Someone special?" asked Mozar, curious.

"Yes Sir," responded the tech " They have Zog and are heading up to our location now."

"Good" said Mozar "When they arrive, bring them to me. Whatever Zog has found, I have a feeling it will be a crucial turn to our favor in this war."

* * *

Meanwhile, down below on the streets, Leo was worried about what he had last seen before he was forced to return to the others and continue to escape from Bishop's base.

Now, they were on the road, with his brothers and the Mutanimals crowded into the back of a van, while Kurtzman sat up front and drove, driving to a secret location where they could hopefully recover and then go take down the Kraang.

Leo looked to where Donnie and Mikey sat, noticing worry reflect in their own eyes, wondering about the brother they had supposedly lost to Zog.

Why had Zog taken Raph? Why were the Triceratons suddenly here to battle against the Kraang? What was Bishop's aim in locking them away from this fight?

Leo glared at Kurtzman, feeling with strong suspicion that the mysterious reporter secretly held all of the answers. He wouldn't have been there to rescue them from Bishop's base otherwise. But when those answers came, would Leo be prepared for the truth, or will the answer only mean more dreadful things to come?


	14. Chapter 14: The End Is Nigh

**Ch.14: The End Is Nigh**

"Finally" said Zog, as he exited out the raptor and onto his home world, which he hadn't seen in an age " after all this time, I am home."

"Welcome back Sargent Zog" said Mozar, as he stepped up to greet his old soldier " I'm glad that you're finally here. You did great work in locating the Kraang's new outpost. Now you can help us with destroying it."

"Yes Sir" bowed Zog " we shall finally make them pay."

"Excellent" said Mozar, and then looked at Zog with stern eyes " The scouts reported that you had found something special down on Earth, is this true?"

"Yes Sir," said Zog, and then snapped his fingers, signaling two guards to walk out with Raphael's unconscious body lying in their hands.

Zog had no choice but to knock Raphael out once he and the turtle had been teleported onto the scout ships. The red-masked turtle had been very angry to be kidnapped by one he considered a friend.

He should have known better to trust a stranger, especially one known to come from a deceptive alien race. Zog knew this turtle packed great potential, but if Raphael couldn't be made to follow commands, there were other ways he could serve.

"Hmm" said Mozar, looking over Raphael " some kind of terrapin. Special you say? I don't see how he can work for…,"

At this, Zog picked out the core from his belt, which he had stolen from Raphael as soon as he knocked the turtle out cold.

"He carried this," said Zog.

"The core to the Heart of Darkness" said Mozar "Finally! Hmm, maybe your friend is worth something after all."

* * *

Finally, pulling into an abandoned warehouse, Kurtzman was able to breathe out a sigh of relief that they had successfully managed to get away from Bishop, and dodge all of the chaos that was happening in the town.

However, he knew that his passengers were not ones to run and hide, and soon they would want to go out to stop this invasion from destroying their home. But there were some things they needed to know first, especially if what Leonardo saw was true, and Raphael managed to get himself kidnapped by a Triceraton.

When the blue-masked turtle had returned late to the van, he made sure immediately that Raphael's disappearance was known. The news of Zog's betrayal was a shock to all of the mutants in the car.

Slash ground up his fists with rage, Mike and Donnie looked at each other and frowned, and Leo tensed with frustration, trying to hold in his rage.

His bubble finally burst when Kurtzman got out of the van, and motioned to the others that they could come on out, stating that they were safe for now.

"Safe?" said Leonardo angrily as he jumped out of the van " What part about this is safe? The city is in danger, and Zog has just kidnapped my brother! I want answers Kurtzman! And I want them now! Just what were you doing there at Bishop's base? How did you to come and rescue us?"

"Well Jack?" questioned Slash, crossing his arms when the reporter failed to respond right away. Every eye was on Kurtzman now.

"Heh," taking a deep breath, Kurtzman sighed and guessed it was time he had better explain and reveal all. " I knew you were there because I was already at Bishop's base at the time. He's been my contact for a long while now. He's the reason I had managed to get so much info on the Kraang. After I accidently discovered his secret investigating the missing scientist reports, he vowed to let me off and keep me informed, after I practically begged and pleaded to be alive."

"Why?" asked Donatello, suddenly curious of Kurtzman's tale " And how did Bishop know so much about the Kraang?"

"Because, in reality" Kurtzman admitted " Bishop is a Kraang,"

This news was a giant shock to the others, and before anyone could begin with the reprimands, Kurtzman continued.

"Bishop is a Kraang" said Kurtzman " but he's not like the other ones you know. He is the brother of Sub-Prime, and was once Kraang Prime's second-in-command. He did a lot of horrible things before he decided to break away from the Kraang hive mind, and join the resistance to stop his race's oppressive rule. That's why he formed the Earth Protection Force, to help with his job."

"If that's so" said Rockwell " then why did he lock us away in chains?"

"Because of the Triceraton you found" said Kurtzman " the Triceraton and the Kraang are mortal enemies, even though the Kraang believed they were safe once they destroyed the Triceratons home world. But they were wrong. Now the war has returned here, and I believe Raphael was taken in order to be forced to help and join their cause."

"What are you saying?! That Raph is going to be forced to join their army?! That's not going to happen!" said Leonardo "We'll stop them before Raph is forced to join any alien race!"

"Then you'll have to work fast" said Kurtzman " The last I heard from Bishop, it seems like the Triceratons may have brought a weapon capable of destroying all the Kraang. But if they use it, there is no denying that the Earth itself will be doomed."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Shredder's lair, Bebop and Rocksteady cowered as they moved around Baxter Stockman's lab, under the severe gaze of Rahzar and Tiger Claw. The two mutants constantly stood on guard, watching Bebop and Rocksteady's every move, and growling when the two mutants failed to please.

Bebop and Rocksteady were to help Baxter-Fly improve his mutagen brew. Shredder had dark plans for the Turtles now, and was sure to make this the ultimate payback for what Raphael did to Karai.

Yes, Hamato Yoshi and his whole family would suffer, for taking away someone so dear. First Tang Shen, now Karai, they would pay for every drop of their blood.

However, this unexpected double invasion placed a slight delay on the Shredder's plans.

The Kraang had returned, and with them another alien force followed. The two sides were at war, blasting at each other in the air, while the Earth forces tried to their best to defend.

"They won't survive," Shredder thought as he watched.

If the Earth forces couldn't even stand against the first Kraang invasion, they clearly weren't prepared for double the dose.

Today the world might possibly end, and that was just fine in Shredder's eyes.

"The world burns" said Shredder " and soon will my enemies. Yoshi, your end is nigh."

* * *

Meanwhile, up inside the Technodrome, Kraang Sub-prime was freaking out as more and more Triceraton raptors came to do damage against their ship.

"Ah!" said Kraang Sub-prime, throwing up his tentacles with disgust "We're losing here! The Triceratons, bah! Who would have thought that this many survived!"

"Do something Sub-prime!" commanded his large leader.

"I'm thinking!" said Sub-prime, trying to find out a way they could survive the Triceraton horde.

He couldn't come up with a single idea though. The Triceratons were a tough and relentless race, quickly adapting to their opponents strategies and then fighting back with pure force. The only way to beat them was the same as last time, with the Heart of Darkness.

Unfortunately, that weapon was no longer in the Kraang arsenal, stolen and destroyed several years ago by that traitor Bishop and his Fugitiod friend.

Without another weapon like the Heart of Darkness, the Kraang were doomed to undergo a major course of destruction and death. Soon, it would be the end of their kind.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Triceraton mothership, Raphael finally found himself coming back awake, eyes gazing into the depths of a dark room.

Soft, concerned voices could be heard ringing into his ears as he struggled his weary body.

"Wha…where am I?" thought Raph in his mind " The last thing I remember was…Zog."

"Are you okay?" asked a female voice, helping him to his feet.

"I…think so" said Raph, looking towards the girl " but where…"

"You're a slave now Raphael" grunted the largest Triceraton Raph had ever seen " just like all of us."


	15. Chapter 15: Death Rains

**Ch.15: Death Rains**

Commander Mozar grinned as he watched the techs insert the core into the black hole machine. Today would go down as the finest moment in Triceraton history when they finally eliminated their long-hated foes.

For months they had tracked down the Heart of Darkness, picking it up piece by piece. The Utrom had hidden the pieces well, but it wasn't long until the frame of the black hole machine had been restored.

However, the core remained elusive, and without it the Heart of Darkness would fail. Not anymore though, now that Zog had delivered it to them on a silver plate.

The terrapin he captured, who would have thought that a creature this primitive would be entrusted with the key to destroy entire worlds.

This Raphael had to be a great warrior indeed. He would make an excellent slave for the Triceraton Empire.

Shame though, that his planet would have to be destroyed. But that was the price of war.

* * *

Meanwhile, down on the streets, Leo and the Mutanimals looked up to where the Kraang and the Triceratons were continuing their fight, looking for a way they could get onboard the Triceraton mothership without being blasted down.

There was no doubt in Leo's mind that was where Zog had taken Raphael. His brother was in danger and they needed to get him back. Only then could focus on saving New York.

"The Earth forces are completely worn out" said Donatello, standing by Leo's side " It looks like it's just between the Kraang and the Triceratons now."

"Yeah" said Mikey, standing close to Leatherhead " but how are we going to get up there to save Raph?"

"Well" said Leo " if the government isn't going to use their planes anymore, maybe we can borrow one from the fleet."

"Steal from the military!" said Rockwell shocked " Are you insane?!"

"He's right Rockwell" said Slash " there's no other choice. Besides, don't forget that some of these goons work for Bishop in the first place. I say it's some perfect payback for what he put us through."

With that said, Slash gave the yell, and he and his Mutanimals charged forward, with Leo and his bros following behind. Needless to say, the military was shocked when they saw massive monsters suddenly running into their camp.

While a few able-bodies were able to gather their courage and fight back with guns, the soldiers that had been wounded during their intense war into sky, fled to safer ground, where they could stand and provide backup in case their valiant defenders fell.

Of course, none the charging mutants had any intention on harming the soldiers' lives. They just wanted them to get out of the way so they could find a ship and hijack it.

The plan worked well, with a few close calls here and there, but eventually a four person jet fighter was exposed to light, and Leo, Don, and Mikey climbed on board. Slash was not reluctant to follow behind.

"Slash wait, what are you doing?" asked Leatherhead, as he saw his friend climb on board.

The large turtle turned around to face the gator.

"Raph needs me" said Slash " and I know that you can handle things here. Take care of the team Leatherhead."

"I understand" said Leatherhead, nodding to Slash's gaze " and I will."

With nothing more said, Slash finished entering the jet fighter and took off with the turtles, while Leatherhead let out a mighty roar, and led the remaining Mutanimals out of the government's sight.

"Be safe my friend," Leatherhead thought, as the jet disappeared into the dark.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on board of the Triceraton mothership, Raphael's blood felt heated with rage, angry that he was now being held prisoner by an alien race, and would be forced to serve as their own personal tool for war.

This was one fate he was determined not to meet, and he swore to severely beat up Zog for thinking that he would submit to this plan from the beginning.

Raph knew that his cellmates desired a little revenge as well. He could see all of the frustration and anger burning deep within their eyes. But there was a sense of hopelessness too and worry, that they could never escape their fate.

The blue lizard girl, who had helped Raph up, introduced herself as Igithba, while her large Triceraton ally went by the name of Zeno. Both had prisoners in this base for a very long time, but Zeno had suffered as a slave the longest, and he had a very sad story to tell.

Back when the Kraang had invaded the Triceraton home world, when it was still whole, Zeno was the one who had been kidnapped by the Kraang, and forced to suffer from their mutagenic experiments.

"That explains his size," thought Raph, as the dinosaur continued.

It had been a terrible experience for Zeno, but it was even worse for his father, Traximus. Having your young son taken away from you, and then subjected to horrible torture by the enemy, it was no wonder when the honorable warrior pleaded with the Emperor to declare war on Dimension X.

The Emperor immediately granted Traximus's request, and a full assault team was assigned to attack the Kraang's home.

The war was brutal, and when Zeno was finally found and rescued, everyone was awed and disgusted by his change. Seeing him as a monster instead of one of their own kind. Even Traximus couldn't hide the fear of what had happened to his son.

"I've never seen my father look so afraid" said Zeno sadly " but his rage outweighed his nerves. He swore vengeance against the Kraang, and vowed to make them pay for what they had done to me."

"However" Zeno continued " in his anger, my father made a mistake that would lead to the destruction of our home world."

"The black hole machine?" asked Raph, recalling the story Zog had told him and his brothers.

"Yes" said Zeno " I see you are aware. Our planet was destroyed, and the lives of many good Triceratons were lost that day. But a few of us managed to survive, and it took a long time for us to rebuild. During that depressing time, my father's head was filled with guilt."

" _I made a terrible mistake Zeno" said Traximus to his son " My anger blinded me, and now our whole race has to suffer for my sins. I caused a great dishonor, hungering for revenge. I cannot allow this to continue anymore."_

"After that" said Zeno " my father resigned from the Triceraton forces, determined to make sure his rage would never hinder his fellow Triceratons again. For many nextons, there was peace in his heart, but when Emperor Zanroman one day called a rally, that's when everything changed."

 _On that day, every Triceraton had been gathered, looking up at Emperor Zanroman as he stood in front of his throne, dressed his regal garb as his malicious, blue eyes shone. Traximus's replacement, Mozar, stood proudly by his side, and raised his arm to calm the crowd down with a quieting hand._

 _When the crowd went silent, Emperor Zanroman finally spoke._

" _Triceratons" he began " it pleases me to see that after suffering such hardship, our empire remains strong. The Kraang are vile beasts, monsters to all we hold dear. If we are to succeed against them, more power must obtained."_

" _Together, we shall raid planets" he continued " ripping them apart for any piece of technology we can find. Then we shall capture the Kraang's ultimate weapon, the one used to destroy our world, and turn it against them, eliminating them all."_

 _All at once, the Triceratons cheered, approving of the Emperor's plan, but one voice called out, shocking them into silence, a strong "No!"_

"It was my father who had spoken" said Zeno, bringing things back into reality " shocked and disgusted that the Triceraton race was turning into vicious brutes. Dishonorable villains and bullies, this was not the Triceraton way."

"But Zanroman wouldn't take any form of rebellion in his quest for power. My father was dragged away to serve punishment for his traitorous words. I flew into a rage, beating up several soldiers in an attempt for them to let my dad go."

"I failed, and was brought to the ground, my fellow saurians calling me a 'beast' as I closed my eyes. I woke up in this cell, a prisoner, a slave. Left to suffer in the misery and fear of what became my father's fate. The name Traximus, was never heard again."

After Zeno finished explaining his tale, silence gripped the room for a brief bit, leaving Raphael stunned. How dare that Zeno had to suffer from such a horrible fate! Raphael wasn't sure who he should be more angry towards; Zog, Bishop, or the whole Triceraton race.

"What about you?" Raph asked Igithba.

"I was captured when the Triceratons came to raid Salmanderia" said the lizard " stealing me away from my world. Luckily, my people managed to drive away the assault, but I remain stuck here, as a prisoner aboard this ship."

"Escape is futile" said Zog gloomily " Emperor Zanroman and his forces are to strong. Now that another Kraang outpost had been found, he'll be searching for the core, in order to complete the black hole machine, before destroying this innocent world."

"The core?" said Raph confused " What are you talking about?"

"The core to the Heart of Darkness" said Zeno " The only piece still missing from the Kraang when their weapon was taken and destroyed. Without it, the black hole is useless, but with it, everyone is doomed."

* * *

Meanwhile, down inside of the Technodrome, Kraang Prime was becoming increasingly frustrated with their lack of success. They were losing, that much was clear. His Kraang soldiers couldn't be any more dumber if he lobotomized the way they speak.

"This is my superior race?" thought Kraang with disgust " The one that I mutated myself for?!"

There just had to be a way they could finally be rid of the Triceratons! There just had to…

The huge brain's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, when Captain Mozar's face suddenly lit up his view screen, looking smug in that famous Triceraton grin.

"What do you want you outdated lizard?" demanded Kraang Prime.

"Kraang Prime" said Captain Mozar " today it is the Triceratons who've proven themselves to be superior. Your forces are dwindling, your technology's outmatched, and now we have you're ultimate trump card to play."

"No!" gasped Kraang, when a picture of the Heart of Darkness suddenly lit up the screen.

"Yes" said Mozar, popping back up as if he heard Kraang's cry " it is to bad that you will not live to see it. Destroy the Technodrome now!"

With that said, the feed cut off, and seconds later, a large buzzing was heard. The buzzing grew louder and louder, until suddenly there was a huge crash, and the entire hull flashed in a fiery blaze of white light.

Kraang Prime never had the chance to suffer from any pain, the whole thing was over, fast.

Outside, the whole sky filled up with color, as the Earth forces watched with awe, seeing the Technodrome explode. Kraang Prime and his subjects were finally gone, but there was still a whole world to be cleansed.

Captain Mozar couldn't help but smile, as a sinister gleam came to his eyes.

"Now…the Earth is next."


	16. Chapter 16: Zero Space

**Ch.16: Zero Space**

Casey could still barely focus, staring down at the blood on his hands as he and April finally walked outside of the Purple Dragons lair. The last few moments for his brain seemed to impossible to be real. Yet, he could recall the scene so clearly.

Nick's gasp, blood falling as he dug the knife into his chest, and then finally the sound as his former friend's dead weight crashed against the floor.

A lifetime of hatred and rage was lost, and now only the guilt of murder lay to suffer on Casey's shoulders. April looked upon her vigilante friend with concern.

She wished that she knew how to comfort her friend during a time like this. April had only heard of Nick once, and wondered why someone like this would stoop so low over a single accident. Willing to kill, blaming the actions of others for ruining their life.

It wasn't Casey's fault Nick had turned out so depraved, just like it wasn't Master Splinter's fault the Shredder was basically insane.

However, before April could delve any deeper in the similarities between Nick's story and the Shredder's, the peace was suddenly interrupted when the sound of a giant explosion rocked the air.

"Whoa!" said April and Casey, suddenly turning their gazes upward, just in time to watch the Technodrome get blown to bits in the sky.

"The Kraang are totaled!" thought Casey " Something bad is happening up there."

"Come on Red!" said Casey to April, before pulling down his mask and running through the streets. April followed in only a few seconds behind.

The Kraang were gone, but the Triceratons still lingered. Earth wasn't out of danger yet.

* * *

At that moment, no knew that fact better than Leonardo, as he watched the Technodrome's explosion with the others, from the seats of a stolen jet plane. The Triceratons had proved themselves to be very lethal foes, but the blue-masked reptile knew these aliens wouldn't stop until every trace of their enemy was erased from the Earth.

"We have to save Raphael before then" thought Leonardo " or else the whole world is doomed."

"Can you get us inside the Triceraton mothership Donnie?" asked Leo.

"I'm looking" said Don "but I'm having trouble locating any available ports."

"Why don't you try the garbage hatch bro?" asked Mikey "They always leave those things unguarded."

Mikey that's ridiculous" said Donnie " that's only in movies and…,"

"He's right" said Slash, pointing out the window " There's our entry point."

Ignoring the smug look on Mikey's face, Donatello turned his attention back to the controls, and started heading for the entrance Slash pointed out.

It wasn't an old garbage chute, but more like an old missile port that had missed out on a few repairs. By the age of the metal, Don guessed this tube hadn't been used for years, and was likely forgotten by the alien race above.

Finding a place to park the jet, Don and the others immediately got out and Leo took the lead, running as he guided their way through the ship's inner chambers.

For a moment, it seemed like they would actually would be able to get through without setting off an alarm, until the ol' turtle luck decided to cause them more trouble into reaching their goal.

A wrong turn was all it took, before they ran straight into a Triceraton guard patrol. The dinosaurs reactions to the intruders were instant, as they immediately drew up their blasters to shoot.

Leonardo saw the attack coming and raised his swords, yelling as he charged into battle with his brothers and Slash following behind.

They had disturbed the hornet's nest, but planned to leave without a single sting.

In the end, it would be the Triceratons who were stung, with the clear message, never to bother the Earth again.

* * *

Meanwhile, up on the bridge, Zog stood silently as Captain Mozar basked in his victory over the Kraang, and then coldly stated what he had planned for Earth. Although faint a small feeling of guilt pricked inside of Zog's heart.

This was Raphael's home, and yet it had to be destroyed in order put an end to a greater foe. The turtle warrior just had to understand, this was for his planet's own good. His family's own good. Better to rest in oblivion than having to suffer even more rejection and pain.

The Heart of Darkness would be merciful to his kind.

Suddenly, one of the techs shouted, immediately catching Zog's ear, and the dinosaur stomped forward to see intruders had raised the alarm. Not just any intruders by all mean, but the turtles and Slash.

"Here to rescue him no doubt" thought Zog " What fools! Raphael belongs to us now, and if they're not careful they could join us too."

But where would be the fun in that? Raphael was the only warrior Zog would need in order to please the Emperor. The others were an expendable means.

With his mind made up, Zog immediately dashed off in order to stop those four. They could not be allowed to mess up what he had planned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that moment, elsewhere in the Triceraton compound, Raphael was not a very happy turtle.

Moments after Zeno had finished explaining his sad story, the cell doors opened up, allowing two mean-looking guards to suddenly step inside. The one on the right was quick to fix Raphael with his gaze, and pointed out to his pal.

"That one" he said Grab him! He has a little date with the Emperor."

Raphael didn't the sound of that statement one bit, and immediately started to resist once the second guard approached to forcibly lead him out of the cell.

"Get your paws off me! Ahh!" cried Raph, as his arms were pinned behind his shell.

Why did these freaks have to be so strong? Was there any chance for him to escape and get out of here?

"Resistance is futile terrain" said the guard " the Emperor will have his way with you…Ahh!"

Suddenly, the guard holding Raphael was attacked, jumped by Y'Gythba, pulling back hard on the dino's horns. The hold on him loosened, allowing Raph to escape, and the turtle quickly turned to draw his sais, determined to help his savoir bring the dino down.

"Ahh!" cried the Triceraton guard, frustrated as he tried to throw off Raph and Y'Gythba's attacks.

His comrade, standing by the door, immediately rushed in to lend a hand, launching a shock taser that reached the back of Y'Gythba's scales.

Raphael watched stunned as the female lizard let loose an enormous scream, before losing her balance and falling out cold of the floor.

Fury surged through the turtle's blood, but Zeno's rage acted quicker than he could move. The giant Triceraton suddenly stood up, and started beating the two guards with his fists. His blue eyes glared at Raphael, telling the turtle to run, escape, he could handle things from here.

Reluctantly, Raph nodded, and turned to run out of the cell, the guards beaten grunts becoming fainter to him as he moved, and Zeno's scream as one the guards finally got lucky and pressed the restraining device on his belt, making the giant Triceraton collapse down on his knees.

"Come on" said the first guard, once Y'gythba and Zeno were out of commission " We got to find that turtle or…,"

An alarm suddenly rang out, cutting off the dino's words. Their base was under attack! Intruders had managed to somehow find their way onboard.

For a moment, the two guards stood torn, whether they should go help their fellow soldiers or retrieve the Emperor's prize.

There was no question in their decision, they had to help their fellow Triceratons fight. Although the Emperor would likely be displeased they had lost Raphael, protecting their home was priority number one.

This is all they had of their world left, and they were going to defend it by any means.

"Heh," breathed Raphael, glad that he had finally escaped the cell the hornheads had had him trapped in.

"I hope Y'gythba and Zeno are doing alright,"

The red turtle would never forget the brave sacrifice they had made, and he planned to pay them back for that sacrifice anyway he could.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching, Raphael suddenly got quiet as he hid himself in the shadows, and listened as a mumbling Triceraton walked by.

"Go down to the surface in order to insert the Heart of Darkness" grumbled the soldier " Why don't I ever get a chance to fight? Just because I mistake on one mission doesn't mean it will happen again. Ah well, at least seeing a Kraang world get destroyed will be fun."

"What did you say?" asked Raph, suddenly stepping out with his sais " You're going to blow up the Earth?! No way pal! No one messes with my home! Raahhh!"

And with that said, Raph sprang out and attacked.


	17. Chapter 17: Countdown 'Till Doom

**Ch.17: Countdown 'Till Doom**

Down on Earth, Kurtzman let out a steady breath of relief as he saw the Technodrome destroyed, but knew the danger wasn't over yet as the turtles and their allies moved on not only to save Raph, but the Earth as well.

"They've saved the world before" thought Kurtzman, looking out the window of the warehouse " they can do it again. I hope."

Hope was the only they had left in which to rely. Hope that everything would turn out to be okay. Hope that by the end of this war, there would still be a world of laughter and play, free from the chaos and the threats rumbling over their heads.

But freedom always had a price, and as Kurtzman suddenly gasped out in pain as his body fell down towards the floor, the reporter blacked out and wondered, if that was a day he would ever see.

* * *

Meanwhile, eslewhere in the city, Leatherhead breathed out a sigh of relief that he and the rest of the Mutanimals had finally managed to escape the forces of the Earth's troops.

These men may have been tired from battling against alien space-craft, but there was still enough strentgh in their bones to fight against what they considered to be threats. And a giant alligator and his mutant friends certianly fit into that category.

Luckily, the shock of the Technodrome exploding provided a good enough distraction for them to get away.

"What do we do now?" asked Rockwell, once the monkey had finally recovered enough to speak.

Leatherhead was silent for a moment before looking around and answered...

"I don't know. Maybe we should go back to...,"

"Hey!" suddenly interrupted Pigeon Pete " It's April and Casey! They're coming this way!"

Curious to what the humans could be doing here, Leatherhead immediately led his group to where the two were, and greeted April and Casey when they ran up.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing here?" asked Casey.

"I should be asking you the same" said Leatherhead " The city is to dangerous right now. Slash and the others have already gone up to stop the Triceraton army. The Earth will be doomed otherwise if they fail."

"Wait a minute, Triceratons?" asked April " Who are they?"

"Enemies of the Kraang" explained Rockwell " Raphael befriended one of them, and became a prisoner to their race. The others have gone to rescue him as well."

"What?!" said Casey stunned " My best friend's in trouble all the way up there?!"

"Slash and the others are handling it" said Leatherhead " There's nothing we can do right now. We should all return to the Underground and rest. If there's any trouble, they'll call."

Although reluctant to agree, Casey and April conceded to Leatherhead's plan, and followed the alligator back to the Underground base, hoping in their hearts, that the others would be okay.

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the Triceraton mothership, the turtles and Slash continued to battle their way through dozens and dozens of heavily-armed guards, digging themselves deeper into the Triceraton base as they searched for clues leading to wherever Raph could be found.

"Any luck Donnie?" asked Leo, turning towards his genius brothers, as Slash knocked away another guard with his mace.

"I think the prison chambers are located somewhere to the right," answered Don.

"Good" said Leo " then we'll split up from here. Mikey, you and Don head over to the prison cells and see if you can find Raph. Slash and I will make our way to the bridge and see if we can't get the captain to change his mind."

Agreeing to the strategy, the turtles instantly into their two teams, and Don and Mikey sprinted off to the right, worries flooding through their heads.

Would Raph really be down there? Would Don and Mikey be able to save him and then all make it out alive?

Truthfully, the two younger brothers didn't know, but they would kill themselves before they let Raph suffer some horrible fate.

Donatello practically beamed when he saw he was right, and this was where the prison cells were supposed to be. But the glee on his face instantly transformed into horror, as a familiar face suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their desired path.

"And where do think you two are going?" said Zog, grinning evilly as he held out a gun.

* * *

On the bridge, Mozar was a bit curious to where Zog had run off too. A tech confirmed that once he alerted the sergeant to the alien threat, Zog had run off to apparently help fight off the intruders.

Oh well, as the soldier was doing his job, Mozar had no reason to fear. Although the captain nearly retracted that statement when Emperor Zanroman's face suddenly appeared on screen.

"Mozar" the Emperor commanded " I asked for the alien to be brought to me and it has yet to arrive. Zog's pet appears to have escaped, and these intruders are causing chaos within our hull. If you fail to retrieve the alien or blast these creatures out of orbit, I'll make sure you get properly demoted from this."

"Don't worry Sir" said Mozar " We will succeed. The Heart of Darkness is already on its way, soon we'll…Oof!"

"Destroy the planet?" said Leo, as he and Slash suddenly arrived " I don't think so!"

And with that said, the two turtles charged.

* * *

"This has to be the place," Raphael thought, if his information from the Triceraton guard was correct.

A weapon that could destroy their entire world, the same weapon that had been crafted to create the Triceratons demise, lie somewhere behind this door.

Taking a deep a breath, Raphael drew out his sais and stood ready, creeping inside as he pushed through the door, and into the deadly zone. As expected, resistance met him as soon as he stepped in.

"Hey we were waiting for yo…Wha?...Get him!"

And just like that, a full-fledged fight ensued.

Raph felt adrenaline pumping through his veins as he blocked and dodged the guards every move, striking back when he could with a few hard hits of his own.

However, taking down one guard was easy compared to whole of pack angry, hard-scaled giants. Raphael found himself wishing desperately that some of his brothers were here, or at Y'gythba and Zeno hadn't been electrified so they could help him survive.

No matter what happened, he needed to make his way to that large metal circle standing in the center of the room, destroy it and save the Earth, no matter if his own life was doomed.

"I can't fail!" said Raph " I can't fail here!"

"Then maybe you need some help," said a voice as if it were an answer to Raph's prayer.

Before the red-masked turtle even knew it, what appeared to be bug-like hands on strings suddenly wrapped themselves around the two guards he was fighting against, and slammed the two Triceratons together knocking them both out cold.

Raphael watched with stunned amazement as the hands suddenly uncoiled and springed back up to their master, reattaching to his body with ease.

He was purple in color and just as bug-like, with a creepy, yellow stare that gave Raph a small case of the chills. Four dragon-fly-like protruded from the creature's back, twitching as he looked down on Raphael, catching him in his stare.

"Who are you?" Raph asked.

"I" said the creature " am Lord Dregg."


	18. Chapter 18: End of the Line

**Ch.18: End of the Line**

"Finally, I'm free," Dregg thought, as he crawled out through the Triceraton's base, escaping the torturous death that was about to come at hand. " Free to take my revenge."

What fortune was it that intruders had managed to slip through the Triceraton defenses and infiltrate their ship's hull. The shock of invasion instantly provided Dregg with an ideal opportunity to escape.

In minutes, he killed the guards holding on to him and broke free from his bonds. The dread lord planned to make the whole Triceraton race pay for their betrayal. No one double-crosses Lord Dregg and makes it away alive.

As he moved, Lord Dregg reflected back on how he had become a prisoner in the first place. It all started when he heard the rumors that the Kraang had invented a black hole machine.

The Heart of Darkness, the most powerful weapon the universe had ever, was said to destroy the entire Triceraton home world in a single, finishing blow.

The pure evil of such a device was endless, and became a vocal point for some Lord Dregg's dreams. If he a weapon like that in his claws, no would dare question him again. He could just eliminate their entire world.

In ways it would be waste of a feast, but the universe was massive enough that it would take millions of years before he or his children ever suffered from hunger.

However, not long after the destruction of the Triceraton planet, the black hole machine was reported to be lost. Possibly dismantled or destroyed, robbing the Kraang of their most valuable tool.

Oh well, at least Dregg still had his own means to conquer.

He put several more helpless worlds under his rule, until he realized that he had some more competition for conquest.

Apparently, some of the Triceratons survived the destruction to their home world, and were now raiding planets to rebuild the empire they once had. Dregg did not appreciate the interference, and went to confront the Triceraton Emperor in order to discuss his terms.

Needless to say, the Emperor was not pleased when he was contacted by the space pirate, and their troops had a little 'discussion' before the two leaders would settle down on a deal.

Agreeing to a partnership, with a fair fee for his service, Lord Dregg assisted the Triceratons in locating the long lost fragments of the black hole machine, which had apparently been separated and spread throughout the universe so that the Kraang could never use it again.

It took a long time, but eventually, all of the black hole pieces were found and brought aboard by the Triceraton fleet.

Not long after that, the double-cross occurred, and the Emperor had his men turn and capture Lord Dregg, escorting the space pirate over to cell, where the bug could be executed later.

However, before the Emperor could order Dregg's death, the Triceratons received a signal beacon from Zog that he had found another Kraang outpost on the planet called Earth, a perfect opportunity to test out the new, deadly weapon lying in their hands.

It was a great day for revenge, and in Dregg's mind, he was seeking that as well.

He knew exactly where the Heart of Darkness would be kept, and would kill anyone in his way as he sought to destroy the Emperor and what remained of his world.

Only, when Dregg finally arrived at the Heart of Darkness's chamber, he was surprised to find out that someone else had already beaten him there.

A red-masked turtle, taking on a small army of armed, Triceraton guards.

"Hmm, one of the intruders no doubt," thought Dregg, as he watched this turtle fiercely fight.

His moves were sharp with rage, as pure hatred seemed to glow in his green eyes. This creature was definitely not a big fan of the Triceraton race.

"I concur," thought Dregg, and decided to lend the overwhelmed turtle a hand.

He savored the look of confusion for a moment before the turtle looked up from the beaten guards and asked him his name.

Yes, helping this creature would be very rewarding indeed, and maybe, just maybe, in the end, he would have a new partner by his side.

* * *

Meanwhile, down over in the cellblock, Mikey and Don were having a difficult time in dealing with Zog.

It was safe to say that their old Triceraton friend wasn't to happy to see them. Well ditto to that, Mikey and Don could say the same.

"You attack our planet, kidnap Raph, and then try to blast us" thought Mikey, swinging out his nunchucks as he dodged another blast " you are so going down dude!"

But even though the orange-masked turtle was determined, and he had the help of Don, Mikey knew that they had very little chance in beating the Triceraton warrior.

Their weapons weren't strong enough to bring Zog down, and the dinosaur seemed to have a counter for every move Mikey and Don made.

"Fools" said Zog, abandoning his blaster as it ran out of shots and threw it on the ground " you think you can save him. Raphael belongs to the Empire."

"Not anymore he doesn't!" said Mikey, swinging out his kusurigama chain as Donatello sliced in with his bo.

Zog immediately blocked out Donatello's attack, before catching Mikey's chain and yanking the little turtle up high into the air.

Mikey screamed as he was thrown over Zog and landed down hard on the other side. Zog grinned in triumph, before turning over to Donatello who lay sprawled on the floor, deciding to kill the purple one first before he dealt with the fool.

However, before Zog could even raise his fist to bring Donatello's life to an end, a miracle appeared bringing the Triceraton down.

Stunned at who could have pushed him down, Zog turned and glared before his eyes widened in surprise, seeing the unusual force stacked before him; a turtle, a Triceraton, and a Salamanderian slave. The Triceraton Zog quickly recognized as Zeno.

"You!" said Zog, stunned to see the large Triceraton "You're supposed to be contained!"

"I was" said Zeno, cracking his fists " but now I'm free, thanks to my friends."

And with that said, the huge Triceraton quickly knocked out Zog with his fists, grinning widely in satisfaction.

"Today, my father shall be avenged."

"Ooo" said Donnie getting up, and looking with disbelief at the reinforcements Mikey had found. "Mikey, where did you find them?"

"They found me dude" said Mikey " after Zog threw me for a loop. Meet Y'gythba and Zeno, they've seen Raph."

"Really?" said Don, looking towards the two " Where is he now?"

"We helped him escape when some Triceraton guards tried to take him away to see Emperor Zanroman. If he's lucky, he's probably already off this ship, which is where we should be now."

"You and them Y'gythba" said Zeno " but not me. The Emperor's plans must be stopped. Today, his legacy ends."

* * *

Meanwhile, down on the bridge, Slash and Leo were making some progress with their fight against Mozar and his goons.

The techs who had been helping their eye on the battle threw their computer screens, stepped up to assist their Commander in fighting off the intruders invading their room.

Slash quickly dealt with any of the extra goons, smacking them away with his mace, while Leo kept on charging forward, trying to get to Mozar.

Mozar growled at the sight of his soldiers losing the fight, and blasted at the blue-masked turtle speeding towards him. Leo quickly dodged the beams, and swung out his katanas, steel striking hard against Mozar's scales.

The Commander was slightly amused, but unafraid. This was a mere insect with delusions to think it could topple the greatest warrior of the Triceraton race. Mozar would make this turtle see and suffer, no one messes with him.

Leo grunted as Mozar countered, trying to find steady ground so that he could fight back. Pure power pushed at him from the other end of his blades, power that threatened to crush Leonardo if he made a single, fatal move.

Fortunately for the turtle, that's when the cavalry decided to appear. Mikey, Don, and Y'gythba, having arrived just in time to help Slash take down the rest of the Triceraton goons, now raced to help Leonardo take down Mozar, and end this battle once and for all.

In moments, Mozar found himself overwhelmed by the force now stacked against him, and fell as he subcame to the blows, and crumbled to the floor.

"It's over" said Leo confidently towards Mozar " we win."

"No" said Mozar " you lose,"

And with that said, the Triceraton pressed a button near him, opening up the dome that sealed in the atmosphere on board of the Triceraton ship.

Immediately the vacuum of space responded, sucking at every living being inside the vessel, as if meant to consume them through a straw.

Leo and his allies immediately tried to find ways to save themselves from this fierce wind, but the incredible force was already lifting them off their feet, and the blue-masked turtle could hear Mozar's cruel laugh as he too was sucked towards space.

"Long live the Triceraton Empire. Death to all Kraang."


	19. Chapter 19: Decisions To Die

**Ch.19: Decisions To Die**

Before Leo and the others found their lives in jeopardy, with the endless void of space threatening to swallow them whole, elsewhere in the Triceraton ship, Zeno had managed to make his way to the throne room, where Emperor Zanroman stood safe, hiding behind closed doors.

It had taken a while to convince Mike, Don, and Y'gythba that this was a battle he had to face alone. But eventually, they understood, and took Zeno's advice to find their comrades and flee, leaving Zeno to his revenge. Now he was here.

Anger surged through Zeno's mind. Today was the day he would make the Emperor finally pay.

Busting down the heavy doors with his fists, Zeno burrowed his way inside, shocking the Emperor, and making Zanroman jump from his throne. The royal Triceraton glared at Zeno, disgust clear in his gaze, masking the horror that he felt rising inside.

"You" said Zanroman " What are you doing here?"

"To pay back a debt" said Zeno " Today, your reign ends. For my father!"

And with that last line, Zeno charged.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Heart of Darkness chamber, Raphael let out a sigh of relief as he and his new ally, Dregg, took down the last of their Triceraton foes.

The red-masked turtle was still confused why this strange alien had decided to help him. How did he even get here? Was he another slave like Y'gythba and Zeno?

No matter who he was, at least now there was a chance to destroy the Heart of Darkness now. Twirling out his sais, Raphael approached the machine, and drove his blades into the metal in order to dig out the core.

If he could just get that one, vital piece out, and get rid of it for good, the Heart of Darkness would be useless, and unable to threaten anyone ever again.

However, it seemed that plan was destined to fail, as Raphael tried and tried to budge out the core, but couldn't dig it loose. It had been jammed very tightly into the machine, and Raph guessed that only the strength of a Triceraton could pry it loose.

"The Triceratons heh" sighed Raph in his mind " if I hadn't made friends with Zog, none of this would be happening right now. That's two mistakes I've made."

"You can't stop it you know" said Dregg, suddenly catching Raphael's ear " The Heart of Darkness can't be destroyed, but everything around it can. Why not use it? Destroy the Triceratons for everything they've ever done."

Raph was stunned by the suggestion. Destroy the Triceratons?

He looked at the Heart of Darkness. Just one touch and he could activate it, destroying the whole Triceraton race for good. He would be killing many lives, but at least the Earth would be safe from their threat.

Suddenly, an image of Karai's face suddenly flashed across his mind.

"No, I can't" said Raphael " it's wrong."

"Wrong?" said Dregg " They kill and enslave millions, forcing some to fight to the death for a bare hope of freedom. They are thieves who raid other planets and then destroy what remains. They intended to sacrifice your world just so they could destroy the hated Kraang."

Raph bent his head down. Everything Dregg said was true.

"The Triceratons are dishonorable beings" continued Dregg " It would be noble to bring their entire existence to an end. Press the button Raphael and escape with me. Save your planet from the fate that consumes it."

With that said, Raphael looked back at the Heart of Darkness, indecision rolling in his mind, and Karai's spirit yelling at him not to do what Dregg said.

But maybe, the alien was right. This was the only way. Maybe, this time, he had a reason to kill.

And before he could force himself to change his mind, Raphael put his hand down, and activated the Heart.

* * *

Back in present time, on the bridge, Leo and the others were still hanging on for their dear lives as Mozar opened up the shield to the vacuum of space. The Commander had been sucked out along with most of his comrades, but Leo and the others were still fine. Though not for long at this rate.

The force pulling at them was to strong. Oxygen was being sucked right out of the air. It was only a matter of time before Slash would lose grip on his mace, and they would all be pulled towards their doom.

"I can't hold on much longer," Mikey called from the end of line.

Fortunately, for the orange-masked turtle, help decided at that moment to arrive.

On the outside, a ship pulled in above the hole of the shield, just as Slash lost hold of his mace, and pulled everyone up quickly in a tractor beam, just before they could all go hurtling towards their doom.

"Wha?" breathed Leo in surprise, when he and the others suddenly found themselves lying on a smooth, steel floor. " What just hap…,"

"It seems like I have made it just in time" interrupted a voice, causing everyone to turn and notice the robot in the room. " A few seconds more and *Blip* that would have been the end. Still, we're not safe here. We have to…,"

Suddenly, the inside of the hull flared with alarm, and the sensors on the screens flashed with warning that instantly put everyone on alert.

With only his electronic eyes and mouth to serve as forms of expression, Professor Honeycutt's face managed to look worried and afraid, his voice reflecting his fear as he looked out to the Triceraton mothership they had left behind.

"Oh no" he breathed " it has already begun."

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside the throne room on the Triceraton ship, Zeno growled as he and Zanroman continued their fight. Even up against a force that had been mutated by the Kraang, Zanroman more than enough proved why he was chosen to be the leader of the Triceraton race.

Both dinos were ground now, each struggling to obtain the upper hand, when suddenly the floor shook violently beneath them, causing both to pause.

"What's happening?" Zeno wondered, when all of a sudden, the floor cracked apart and spread wide, disappearing down below, into what looked like a dark vortex of doom.

"The Heart of Darkness" thought Zeno " So…this is how it ends."

An image of Traximus's face appeared in Zeno's mind as he and the Emperor were pulled towards their deaths, and peace claimed the dino's heart for the first time since he became a slave.

"Father, it's done. I shall see you in the other world."

And with that last thought, Zeno was sucked into the black hole and died.

* * *

Through the barest seconds, Professor Honeycutt managed to blast his ship away from the Triceraton vessel before the black hole was fully formed, and his passengers stared out the window, watching in wonder, as they saw the whole Triceraton ship vanish without a trace.

Leo was as stunned as the rest of his brothers, but worry carried his thoughts. The Earth was saved, but Raph…Did he really manage to escape like Y'gythba had said?

The blue-masked leader hoped in his heart that this was true, and that his brother was back on Earth, waiting for a welcome home.

As he turned away from the window, that thought floating his mind, Leo missed seeing the streak that flew away from the other side where Triceraton ship was destroyed. A fast, large, yellow, insect-like streak, carrying his brother, and his new friend, Lord Dregg inside.


	20. Chapter 20: Chaos Bends

**Ch.20: Chaos Bends**

When the black hole finally vanished, it was like an eerie calm had set itself upon New York as the Fugitiod, Professor Honeycutt, settled his ship down upon the Earth, ready to unload the crowd of passengers he had picked up earlier in space.

If only he had arrived a little bit sooner, maybe some of this major destruction could have been avoided. However, he was on the other side of the galaxy when he called Bishop to inform him that the Triceratons were on their way. Even with a tachyon warp, it was doubtful he would ever make it here in time.

Thank goodness what he feared most would happen to the Earth didn't come to pass. The Heart had taken a different victim, the Triceratons themselves.

Once Honeycutt was sure that Leo, Slash, Mikey, Don, and Y'gythba had all boarded off safely into the city, the robot turned around to get back in his ship, before he was stopped by Leo's words.

"Wait!" called out the blue-masked turtle "I just wanted to say…thank you."

"Your welcome," said Honeycutt, turning around "It was a pleasure to meet you all."

"How did you know how to save us?" asked Don.

"Simple" said the Professor " I knew the Triceratons were coming here, and I followed, knowing the destruction they would cause. But you no longer need to worry, for it seems the Heart of Darkness has destroyed them, ceasing their vengeance, like they did the Kraang."

"Now though" he continued " I have to make sure the Heart is destroyed once and for all. And you, have a city to rebuild. So long my friends. I'm sure I'll see you in the future."

With that said, the Professor walked back into his ship, closed the door, and took off into space, leaving everyone else behind.

"Well" said Slash, once the robot disappeared " guess we should all head back to the Underground. We need a little R&R after what we had been through today."

"Yeah, let's go," said Don.

"What about Raph?" asked Mikey, and guilt descended down upon the group.

"We'll search for him later" said Leo " Y'gtyhba said he escaped before we attacked, so he had to make it here before us right? I don't know where he is right now in the city, but it's better to rest right now so we'll have energy to search later."

Everyone nodded, conceding to that statement.

"Come on" said Slash " I'll lead us home."

And with that said, the five creatures vanished into the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Underground, Fishface stood silent as he looked over what had become Karai's grave. His body felt better now, but his eyes still held concern, reflecting on the horrors brought after that unfortunate slice.

Shredder, as a mutant, was even more terrifying than he had ever been before. In control of shadows and minds, Rahzar and Tiger Claw were now helpless pawns, meant to serve out his every will.

Fishface shivered as he remembered how much his fellow mutants had changed. They had become beasts, monsters, separated from the human soul that was still lurking somewhere inside.

A soul that had become trapped, locked in a darkness that was to deep to escape, just as Raphael's soul had been.

Heh, Raphael, now there was a turtle Fishface found hard to get off his mind. From the day they first fought each other, Xever had been impressed by the turtle's skill.

The fury burning in his deep, green eyes, the killing rage he delivered with each and every blow. Yes, all this and more made him a very worthy adversary to face.

If the tides had been different, maybe he would have also become a very valuable ally to stand by Xever's side. But no, his purpose was to be destroyed, and Xever was determined to crush him with his own hands.

However, thanks to Shredder, and the current crisis up above, the dream Xever envisioned did not seem possible anymore.

A few moments ago, Leatherhead and his group, including Rockwell, Pete, Casey and April, arrived back in the Underground to report what happened to them when they and the others went to stop the Newtralizer from blowing up New York.

The lizard's plan had been defeated, but then the invasion came and they were captured, locked inside of a government facility, before escaping thanks to Kurtzman, and then Raphael was kidnapped by Zog.

The last bit of news stunned Master Splinter, and he hoped that his sons were okay. Fishface just wondered what Shredder could be thinking at this moment. Even if he had noticed the invasion, it was doubtful that the villain would care. Vengeance was all that mattered to him. It didn't matter if the whole world died.

"True, isn't it Karai?" spoke Fishface to the ninja's grave. The grave didn't answer, then the sound of more footsteps arriving caught the villain's ear.

Stepping out into the main room, Fishface looked over to see three of the turtles, Slash, and some strange lizard girl arrive. Wait, only three turtles? Where was Raphael? Didn't Leatherhead mention part of their mission was to rescue him from the Triceratons?

Determined to find out some answers, Xever approached the group just as Master Splinter, Casey, and April finished welcoming them all back themselves. It didn't take long for the three to notice the absence of Raphael either.

"Where is he?" asked Casey " Didn't you save Raph?"

"No" said Leo, shaking his head " We think he escaped while we attacking the Triceraton ship. Y'gythba says that she and Zeno helped him out. He might be back in the city. I just don't know where."

"We shall find him Leonardo" said Splinter, placing a hand on his son's shoulder " but right now, I think we have more urgent things to discuss."

"True," said Leatherhead, approaching the group.

"Leatherhead, where's Rockwell and Pete?" said Slash, noticing that the two weren't here.

"Recon" said Leatherhead " while we were anyway, Splinter found him lying in the sewers."

It was just then Slash's group noticed that Fishface was standing not to far away. Immediately thinking something sinister was up, they dropped into fighting stance, ready to charge, when Master Splinter put out a hand to stop their advance.

"No!" said the rat sternly " He is not our enemy, yet."

"Better listen to him" said Xever " it's Shredder who should worry you, not me."

Before Leo could ask what Fishface meant by that, Rockwell and Pigeon Pete suddenly arrived, appearing to be nearly out of breath.

"Rockwell, what happened?" asked Leatherhead concerned.

"Shredder" spoke the monkey " We need to stop him. Now!"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of Baxter Stockman's lab, the mutant fly buzzed as he put the final touches on the mutagen Shredder asked him to create.

The glowing black ooze shined eerily in its jar, tainted with the pure evil of Shredder's powers.

Beneath his exo-skin, Baxter shivered in fear, as he cautiously looked around to see Bebop and Rocksteady also suffer from nervous fright, as their master looked down from the upper levels, glaring from above.

"Shredder" thought Baxter " always been completely mad. Always forced to serve under him, help his plans for revenge. What about my revenge? When will I make sure that he suffers from pain? Make sure all of them will!"

The time was not now though. No, he needed to be patient and wait. Wait for his opportunity to come.

If he rebelled now, there was no doubt he would die. A monster waited in the wings and he was laughing. Laughing at the visions of others blood.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of another laboratory, a weary Jack Kurtzman woke up, surprised to find himself pinned to a lab table, as his friend, Bishop, stood working somewhere nearby.

"Wha…Bishop!" said Kurtzman, struggling to move his arms " What is the meaning of this?"

"Ah, you're awake" said Bishop, turning to Jack " You'll be happy to hear that your little plan worked. The Kraang and Triceratons are gone. To bad you had to betray my trust in order to do it."

"You were going to destroy them!" said Kurtzman " They're the only hope that this city has! Have you forgotten that Bishop? Thanks to them, New York would have been destroyed."

"No" said Bishop " thanks to them, my goals will be achieved. I fulfilled the wish of the Utroms. Honeycutt is on his way to destroy the Heart, and the Triceratons and Kraang are gone. But now it's time to focus back on my real work. And you…have outlived your usefulness to me."

"What do you mean?" asked Kurtzman, stumbling in fear, as the eerie government agent approached him with a syringe.

"Goodbye Jack," said Bishop, pushing the liquid into the reporter's arm.

Jack gasped and passed out, eyes glazing as his mind descended into the dark. This is where his life came to an end, and chaos took control.


	21. Chapter 21: Haunting Thoughts

**Ch.21: Haunting Thoughts  
**

After the Triceraton base was destroyed, Raphael didn't know what to think as he crouched down inside of the Hornet-tron while Lord Dregg blasted them safely away from the black hole.

Guilt was still playing in his mind on what he had done, and Karai's face didn't want to seem to leave his head, frowning her disapproval at the red-masked turtle for daring to activate the Heart.

It was too late to amend that decision now. Just as it was to late for him to return.

Not long after he had activated the Heart, Lord Dregg grabbed Raphael and dragged him over shipping bay, where they boarded the Hornet-tron and flew off. The last sight Raphael ever saw, was the Triceraton ship exploding as they speeded away from Earth, cruising away further and further from his home.

"I'm sorry" Raphael breathed under his breath " I'm so sorry,"

Yet, should he be sorry? Dregg had been right. The Triceratons were all liars and beasts. To once think that Raphael had felt sorry for Zog, only to have himself nearly turned into a slave. A mindless tool that knew but how to destroy and kill. Just like he had been the day he slayed Karai.

"Are you still moping?" said Lord Dregg " You did the right thing Raphael. The Triceratons are destroyed, and home is just a few hours away."

"Home?" said Raph "Where's that?"

"Sectiod 1" said Lord Dregg with a grin " a realm me and my insect children rule. Prepare yourself my friend."

"Great" thought Raph in his mind "I'm heading to a sector ruled by bugs. Things cannot get any worse today."

Unfortunately, Raph was wrong, as the whole ship suddenly shook as something hard slammed right into its side.

"What was that?" Raph shouted, worried about what could possibly be attacking them in space.

Lord Dregg's expression turned into a frown as he looked towards the screens, yellow eyes narrowing as he glared at the monitors.

"Armaggon," the bug whispered.

Outside of his ship, a half-mechanical shark stood viciously tearing in with his teeth, trying to chomp his way through the Hornet-tron's hull.

"I'm going to get you Dregg!" yelled Armaggon from the outside.

"Not likely shark," said Dregg, and pressed a button on his control panel, activating the defenses of his ship.

Immediately, the ship responded, and the back end started shooting out eggs that instantly hatched into large, green creatures called Vreen. The Vreen were bug-like soldiers loyal to Dregg, and would gladly take out any threat that meant their master harm.

"Ha!" laughed Aarmaggon as the bugs approached " You think those guys can stop me!"

Powering up his armor to the max, Armaggon quickly made work of the mindless Vreen, tearing the insect soldiers apart.

"Blast it!" said Dregg, slamming his hand down.

His old partner was just as ruthless as he had been before. Perhaps it was time that he introduce his new friend to this fool.

"Raphael!" said Dregg " Go out there and destroy him!"

"What?! Are you crazy?" said Raph shocked " I can't breathe out in space!"

"Grr!" growled Dregg, and shot out a spider-hand at Raphael, wrapping the turtle up, and dragging him to his feet.

"Useless" glared Dregg "I'll handle this myself."

Air suddenly started gushing out of the ship as Armaggon finally managed to claw his way inside. Seconds later, the shark was on the bridge, glaring straight down at Dregg and Raphael, teeth glistening in the dim light.

"Thought you could leave me to rot in prison huh?" said Armaggon, narrowing his dark eyes " Well now it's over Dregg."

"Never," said Dregg, readying his claws.

"Yes it is," spoke out a third voice before the two aliens could attack.

Dregg and Armaggon stopped their advance, looking around, confused. Raph was stunned as well.

"Who…?" the turtle spoke, before everything was suddenly consumed in a blinding glare.

Before any of the trio could react, they all swallowed up by a white light and vanished, leaving nothing but silent space behind, whispering in echoes.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in New York City, the air was thick with tension as Fishface led Splinter, the Turtles, and half of the Mighty Mutanimals towards the secret entrance of Shredder's lair.

Rockwell's report on what he and Pigeon Pete had saw when they spied on the villain still rang shivers through their heads.

"It was awful" said Rockwell " We couldn't see much when we made it to lab, but when my mind…the evil. Shredder is developing something new…dark mutagen. Before we could figure out more, Tiger Claw and Rahzar sensed us. They chased us, and we barely made it out of there alive."

"What could be so horrible?" thought Leonardo, as he continued to walk behind Fishface " Dark mutagen…What is Shredder planning to do?"

The blue-masked turtle's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Fishface stopped the group and announced that they were here.

Hopefully, this secret entrance would be unguarded, because there was no doubt since Tiger Claw and Rahzar chased out Rockwell and Pigeon Pete, Shredder had probably stepped up his security to keep meddling intruders at bay.

Fortunately for the mutants, there were no guards at that moment, and they were able to enter the lab safe and sound.

Instantly, looking up at the mutagen tank, Leo and his brothers could see the glow of Shredder's dark mutagen, looking as evil as it seemed.

What power did this ooze have? What vile monster could it unleash?

Before any of these questions could be answered they were ambushed, and taken down before they could even put up a decent fight back.

Shredder soon stepped up into sight, his mutant brigade all around him.

"I've been expecting you to arrive. Behold, the terror of the Oni."

* * *

Meanwhile, far away, in a different place, a set of weary green eyes were just waking up to the strange, new world around him.

"Uhh," the turtle groaned.

"Raphael! Raphael!" called out a familiar voice.

"No, it can't be," thought the red-masked turtle, thinking he had misheard.

But as his eyes slowly began focus, Raphael quickly realized that his ears weren't playing tricks, and gasped as he thought it might really be his eyes.

But the figure stood before him as clear as day, unhurt and undamaged by the horror he had given her in her life before. Barely he could out the words to speak, and the figure smiled at his trouble.

"It's good to see you too," she said.

And that's when Raphael finally managed to get out the name.

"Karai,"

 **The End**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Whew, I decided to end the sequel right here because I have a whole 'nother plot starring mainly Karai. It will be a long story, so just keep an eye out for a trequel. And yes, Raphael will have a major part too. So like I said, keep an eye out for the story  Mystic Flames. That's all for now, bye.**


End file.
